New Potential
by PotionmasterSnape
Summary: When Harry is accused of killing his Aunt and Uncle, only one witch can help him. That one witch happens to be the same person who killed Harry's godfather. Lot's of betrayal and bashing :
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: 'Ello mates! This is a sample of a story I might write. Please know - I WILL NOT WRITE THIS UNLESS AT LEAST A FEW PEOPLE TELL ME THAT I SHOULD! So please review (you can just say yes or no) if the majority say yes, then I will write it :) Cheers!**

**PotionmasterSnape **

Chapter 1

Sentenced

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge banged his gavel on his podium. He and the majority of the Wizamont, along with many Ministry officials were sitting in a dingy room at the bottom of the Ministry. They were not here for no reason, however. This was a trial for one of the most dangerous criminals of the century.

"Bring her in!" called Fudge, in what he hoped was a regal and commanding voice. He shuddered as two black – cloaked Dementers floated in the room, but quickly caught himself as he remembered there were reporters in the room. He didn't wish to be coined as 'The Minister Who Coward' or something ridiculous like that.

The two foul creatures dragged in a struggling woman. She looked to have once been beautiful, but years of living in poor conditions and filth had ruined her appearance. She had long, curly black hair, and dark brown eyes. She wore a filthy black robe, and under that, a tattered but elegant dress. The Minister was staring into the eyes of one Bellatrix Lestrange.

The Dementers opened their scabbed and slimy hands, dropping her into a chair in the center of the room. With a loud clanking sound, thick black chains appeared and bound her. The Dementers backed up slowly and stood at the entrance to the court room, waiting for farther orders from Fudge.

"You, Bellatrix Lestrange are charged with first degree murder, torture, and use of all three Unforgivables!" Minister Fudge roared, hoping to make this a quick affair. He also hoped to gather some positive support due to his bold and commanding attitude.

"I -" she began, but Fudge smoothly cut her off.

"I think we know what you're going to say!" he smirked, drawing a chuckle from Percy Weasley. Everyone else just sat there looking at his young assistant. "I don't want to hear any crackpot theories about how you're not a Death Eater! You killed those people and you know it!"

Percy Weasley grinned in approval. "Oh that was very good Minister, very good, indeed!"

Fudge nodded at Percy appreciatively, but then turned back to Bellatrix. "Do you dare deny it?"

"No, I know that I killed them, but I -" she was again cut off.

"Do you not have a Dark Mark?" asked Madam Bones, speaking for the first time from a chair on Fudge's right side.

Bellatrix's sleeve was pulled back to revile the black mark.

"I know that I was working for Voldemort, but I really -" Bellatrix began, but was _again_ cut off by the Minister.

"I demand that you be quiet right now Ms. Lestrange! I know how you Death Eaters are! You are filthy, stinking cowards! Whenever something goes wrong, you slither back into your little snake holes! Now, I don't think this requires any more of my time!"

Percy drew some alarmed looks from the majority of the Wizamont by bellowing with laughter, while his father looked revolted.

"Surly, we can at least listen to what she has to say?" Mr. Weasley asked, having arrived at the hearing because of Fudge's request. The Minister wanted as many people as possible to attend, so as to make him look good, and attract any voters.

"Listen? I think we've heard enough! She as good as confessed to her atrocities! What more is there to ask?"

Mr. Weasley looked uncomfortable, but said nothing. Percy looked at his father with disapproval. He felt that his "Muggle – like" ways were an embarrassment. Percy thought that his family should stick up for the Ministry instead of Dumbledore and his crowd.

"Enough!" called Fudge, quieting any whispers that had started in the small period of silence. "Lestrange, for your crimes, you will spend the rest of your life in Azkaban!"

Before he could bang his gavel down, however, there was an interruption.

"Hem hem!" coughed a short woman, standing to make herself more visible. This, however, did little because she was so short. "I think that she deserves a teeny bit more that a life sentence, if I may, Minister? She will not suffer for her crimes this way, like her victims did."

"What do you have in mind, Madam Umbridge?" asked Fudge, looking interested despite his urge to finish this trial.

Deloris Umbridge was a stout woman with a fussy pink bow in her hair, and wearing a shaggy pink sweater. She had short brown hair, and had an irritating infatuation with cats and tea.

"I think the death penalty is in order! The Dementer's Kiss, to be precise!" When Umbridge said this, she got a little smile and giggled sickeningly. Even Percy turned his disapproving stare from his father to her. Percy didn't like giggling, because he thought badly of fun while there was hard work that needed to be done.

Fudge contemplated this. He liked the idea because, this way, there was no chance of an escape. An escape could make his voters get angry. No, no, an escape would not be good for Fudge or his position as Minister of Magic. He gulped at the very thought, and made his mind up. "Oh, very well, very well! The Dementers Kiss it is! It will be administered in two days time!"

Bellatrix opened her mouth in horror. "I didn't -"

"That's enough out of you!" Fudge declared, standing so the cameras could get the best view. He attempted to look as bold and imposing as possible. "Dementers, get her out of my sight!"

The hooded creatures swooped down on Bellatrix and grabbed her, dragging her down the hall and into the chains of a waiting Auror. From there, she was taken by boat, to the dreaded wizard prison, Azkaban.

Harry Potter sat glumly on one of the last rusty swings left in the park. The others had been destroyed by Dudley's gang. It was early in the morning, but Harry was scared of going back to the Dursleys for fear of being beaten again. His owl, Hedwig sat glumly in a branch across the road.

He had said the dreaded "M" word. Most people, even other muggles wouldn't care if you said "Magic" in their house. Even so, after saying it, Harry was beaten to an inch of his life, and locked in his old cupboard. His Uncle Vernon disapproved of anything that was not normal. He also disapproved of imagination, so using that as an excuse to avoid a beating was pointless.

Harry watched as fog swirled lazily across the ground. The sun was climbing higher and higher in the sky. Thinking that he would be beaten even worse if he was late making breakfast, he contemplated returning to Number 4. He was just about to get up, when there was a small _pop_ and a figure appeared.

He was tall and confident looking, with a head of long white hair. He wore a crisp black cloak, and expensive dragon – skin gloves. If you looked at the trademark sneer plastered on his face, you would be able to tell exactly who it was.

"Lucius Malfoy!" yelled Harry, surprised. In a quick and fluid motion, he unsheathed his wand from his belt. He raised it, ready to strike. "What are _you_ doing here?"

The man chuckled quietly, and fingered his black and silver cane. This man was dangerous. The last time Harry had seen him, he was at the Ministry when Sirius - . Harry's thoughts ended there, because he found Sirius too painful to talk or even _think_ about. He shook his head to clear it, and focused on his enemy once more.  
>"Why, I just wanted to say hello! By the way, how's Sirius doing? Oh, wait! I forgot! He's dead, isn't he?" Lucius sneered, pulling his wand out of the top of his cane with a silly flourish.<p>

"Get out of here!" Harry shouted, readying himself for the fight he knew was coming.

Malfoy laughed. "You can't order me around! You're a filthy Half – Blood, just like your good for nothing father. Don't even get me started on your Mudblood mother! I'm glad Lord Voldemort finished them off or I might have been tempted to do it myself!"

Of course, Malfoy was _trying_ to get Harry mad, but it worked a little _too_ well. Harry gave a strangled cry and yelled the incantation for the deadliest slashing curse that he knew. "_KAOETOC!_" The spell zoomed towards Malfoy, who laughed gleefully and vanished with a crack and a shifty smile.

"COME BACK YOU COWARD!" yelled Harry, but all was quiet once more.

_It was too easy! _He thought as he walked back to the Dursleys, wand still pressed firmly in his hand. _Why did he just leave without trying to kill me?_

Harry was so mad, that he didn't notice that he had come up to the doorstep of Number 4. When Harry walked through the door, he braced himself for a fist to sink into his face, but nothing happened. The house was deathly quiet. Too quiet.

Harry felt a pang of terror. He didn't know why, however. Harry walked slowly upstairs. He got the feeling his was being watched, and spun around. There was nothing there. Then he noticed something that chilled his blood. The door to the Dursleys room was partially open, and what was that on the carpet? It was red.

His throat caught in fear, but he called: "Hello?" There was no answer.

He slowly pushed open the door, and there were all three of the Dursleys. Bound in ropes, throats slit, and dead. Harry sank to his knees. Although they were horrible to him, they were the only blood family he had left. Now they were gone.

Suddenly, there was a small _pop_. Albus Dumbledore had appeared in the center of the room.

"Sir!" gasped Harry. "Thank goodness you're here!"

Dumbledore was glaring at Harry. The twinkle that usually was shining in his eyes was gone. Dumbledore didn't answer Harry, but raised his wand slowly. "_Stupefy!_"

There was a flash of red light, and Harry's world dissolved into blackness. His last thought before his head hit the floor was: "Me. Why me?"

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were both sitting at the banged – up kitchen table of the Borrow. They were waiting excitedly, because today, Dumbledore said that he would bring Harry to stay with them. They both missed their best friend, and confidentially, were worried about him.

This was mostly because he had taken Sirius's death very hard. Harder than he let on to Dumbledore or the Order, and lately failed to respond to their owls.

With a small _pop,_ Dumbledore suddenly appeared in the room. He wore his usual blue robes, but there was a strange tint to them. Something red. Unusually, he was not looking happy or cheerful in the slightest.

"Professor! Glad you're here! Is Harry with you?" asked Ginny, walking into the room when she heard the crack. She and Harry had finally started dating after Sirius died. She was worried about Harry, but couldn't wait to see him.

"I'm sorry to say that I have some bad news." the Leader of the Light said, sitting down across from Ron and Hermione, while beckoning Ginny to sit too.

"Oh no!" gasped Hermione. "Is Harry ok?"  
>"Well, I am not sure whether 'ok' is the right word to use," murmured Dumbledore, looking very grave and burdened.<p>

"What do you mean, Professor?" cried Ginny, looking very distressed. She hoped that nothing had happened to her future husband.

"I don't know how to say this without frightening you, but -"

Dumbledore was interrupted by Hermione, who feared the worst, breaking down in tears. "Oh no! He's not dead is he?"

"No, no. He's not dead," said Dumbledore, laying a comforting hand on the young witch's shoulder.

"Well?" asked Ron, not really worried. Harry had faced a lot, and he was sure he would be ok. "What in the name of Merlin happened?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny…Harry murdered his Aunt and Uncle."

**A/N: Let's get something clear. This is NOT going to be a fanfiction where Harry gets super powerful and everyone calls him Lord Potter. There is going to be some of that stuff, but it will be a lot of Harry as an Unspeakable or Special Forces type story. Yes, it will be Harry/Bella. Remember, if no one says that I should continue this, I won't update, cause if I do write this, it will be pretty long and take a lot of time. I don't want to do all that if no one likes it. **

**Adios for now!**

**PotionmasterSnape**


	2. Chapter 2 Betrayed

**A/N: Wow! I'm really surprised at the response I got from the first chapter! I will definitely be writing the whole story for you guys! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate all the reviews that I get! If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them! I do realize that the pace in the first chapter was very fast, but I can assure you that it will go a bit slower from now on!**

**This chapter is dedicated to my first five reviewers! Thank you all!**

Chapter 2

Betrayed

Harry Potter painfully cracked open one bright green eye. It felt like someone had been taking a mallet and pounding it on the inside of his head. _What happened?_ He wondered. Slowly, the memories trickled back to him.

_Why had Dumbledore stunned me? _He wondered, but figured that it was to protect him from Merlin – knows - what.

Harry craned his neck, trying to see his surroundings. He was bound to a chair that sat in a semi dark room. There was a familiar feeling that lingered about this place, but Harry couldn't place his finger on it. It was a cold feeling, like he was putting his face in a bucket of ice water.

He squirmed, trying to slip out of his bonds, but the black ropes held him tightly in place. _Where am I?_ Harry wondered. _I must be at a safe house somewhere. Maybe a room in Number 12, but why the ropes? Why am I bound?_

As Harry was contemplating this, there was a scratching noise. A hidden door in the wall started to slide open. _Thank goodness! _Harry thought. _Someone's coming to get me! _As the hand slid around the wall, and pushed open the door, however, he knew something was terribly wrong.

There was a blast of frigid air that blew through the room as the Dementer floated into the cramped chamber. It had long, scabbed fingers; a heavy – looking black cloak; and a terrible, dripping mouth under its hood.

The Dementer breathed in a rattling breath, and all the light was sucked from the room. Harry felt all the happiness and joy drain out of him. He heard his mother's scream over and over. He heard Voldemort's high voice casting the killing curse. He saw Sirius, dead and broken, falling through The Veil.

"NOOOOO!" he screamed as the thing approached. _Am I being kissed?_ Was his only thought. The Dementer grabbed his arm and cut through his bonds with a short knife. With a loud and terrible breath, the creature lifted Harry and dragged him out the door.

Harry blacked out after a few seconds, to which he was grateful.

When Harry awoke, he was not in the small room anymore. He was in a dim, cavernous room shaped like a tube. Around the edges were faded red benches on which the various members of the Wizamont sat. At the front of the room and behind a podium, sat Minister Fudge and Dumbledore. Another Dementer guarded the door of the courtroom.

"He's awake!" stated Percy in a business – like tone. He was told by Fudge to alert him of this very thing.

"Good! Thank you Percival!" snapped the latter, looking down on Harry from his raised platform.

Once Harry got over the fact that the Dementer was indeed gone, he noticed that he was bound by heavy black chains to a thick chair in the center of the room. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in a box labeled "Witnesses". They could help him with whatever was going on!

"Harry James Peverall Potter!" cried Fudge, standing up and brandishing a fat finger in the boy's direction.

"Yes?" gulped Harry. He was not afraid of Fudge, but rather the man's obsessive hatred of him. He had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"You are brought here before the Wizamont for the charges of murdering your Aunt, Uncle, and your young Cousin! How do you plead?"

Harry sat in shock for a moment before someone cleared their throat. "I didn't -"

"I asked you what you plead, now answer!"

"Not guilty sir!" stated Harry wildly. _How could they think he killed the Dursleys? _He thought, trying to keep his composure.

"I see that you have no representative," barked Fudge, causing Harry to refocus on him in puzzlement.

"Uh, what's a representative exactly?" asked Harry.

Fudge rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I believe you call them lawyers in the Muggle world. Where is yours?"

"Uh, well sir, I just now got up. I didn't know about this trial or anything!" Harry was talking so calmly because he was in a state of shock.

"Hmm, making excuses now, eh? Not smart Mr. Potter, not smart!"

"I didn't kill those Muggles!" cried Harry, temper rising in spite of the wisdom he gained from Mr. Weasley. The man had once told him to keep his head, and not let his temper get the best of him. Harry however, could not help himself. Him? Kill the Dursleys? Honestly!

"Is that so?" sneered Fudge. Unlike Bellatrix's trial, he was giving this one his upmost attention. It would be a good move for him, the heroic Minister, to put this lunatic behind bars. "And pray I ask who did?"

"Sir, I think it was Lucius Malfoy! You see, I saw him right before -"

Harry was cut off as a man stood up in the room. "How dare you accuse me of murder, Potter?" yelled the senior Malfoy, looking enraged. Lucius was glad that he had been able to say that with a straight face. It would have been complicated if he had laughed.

"Enough!" yelled Dumbledore, stopping the argument that was in progress. "Potter, you WILL stop accusing other _respectable _people of your own misdeeds! I thought you were a Gryffindor? You are putting this whole court to shame!"

Harry was silent with shock at the insult. This was all that Fudge needed to continue. "Now, let us interview Harry's closest friends. I am determined to find out the truth!"

"Ms. Hermione Jean Granger, please come forward!" Dumbledore called out.

Hermione walked meekly forward. She sat in a simple chair that Fudge had kindly provided her. "Yes, sir?"

"Do you think that Harry killed his Aunt and Uncle? Do you think that he had the capability?" Fudge asked, leaning forward in his imported throne – like chair.

Harry felt some tension drain out of him in spite of his instincts warning him of disaster. He now had a chance to be proven innocent. He almost smiled because he knew that the bushy – haired witch and one his best friend's would say –

"Guilty. I think that he's guilty."

Everything seemed to fade around Harry. He was dimly aware of Fudge smiling like a toad, and Dumbledore giving Hermione the smallest of winks. Everything else faded into the hurricane of anger pulsing through him. He was pulled back to into his with the next question, but could not speak because of his fury.

"Why do you think this?" asked Fudge in what he thought was a kind and fatherly voice.

"Well, sir, Harry always said that he hated the Dursleys. I believe his exact words were: 'It's impossible to live with them and not hate them'."

"Oh, is that so?" sneered Fudge, glowering down at Harry. "So to take out your anger at them, you slit their throats, eh? You make me sick!"

"No, I never even…" Harry began through clenched teeth, but stopped. He realized what happened now. The cutting curse that he used at Malfoy. They must think that he used it to kill his Aunt and Uncle. He had been framed. That's why Malfoy didn't fight back.

After all, the Improper Use of Magic office would only see that the spell had come from Privet Drive, not who it was directed at.

"Anything else?" Fudge asked Hermione. "I know that he was your good friend, but you need to do this for the wizarding law, and the Ministry."

Hermione gulped, then said in a slow, but confident voice: "Well, sir…there may be one other thing. You see, after the death of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, Harry seemed to go crazy. He would not write us back, and was always moody and quiet."

Harry found that he could use his voice again. He exploited it to his current thoughts. "YOU LITTLE TRAITOR! I WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK ME? I WOULD HAVE DIED RATHER THAN BETRAYED YOU! HOW COULD YOU!"

The court was stonily silent, and Hermione just stood there, looking at Harry sadly. It was not true remorse, however. It was more like one of those 'I feel sorry for you! You're so foolish!' type looks.

"MR. POTTER!" yelled Fudge, turning red and ushering Hermione back to her seat with a gentle push. "I forbid you to shout in my courtroom! Do you understand?"

Harry said nothing, and sat with his arms crossed. There was an unimaginable amount of shock and anger coursing through his veins.

"Now for Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Fudge barked, attempting to calm himself enough to think clearly.

"Sir, I too think that Harry is a sick, twisted murderer!" Ron said, walking over to the chair Hermione previously occupied, and plopping himself down in it. "And I have evidence to that, too!"

Harry sat frozen in shock. His two best friends. How could they do this to him? How could they turn on him just like that?

"Good, good!" cried Fudge gleefully. "What is your evidence?"

Ron stood up. "Well sir, me and Harry used to be on the Quidditch team at Hogwarts, see, and once he said that he wished that he could knock Draco Malfoy off his broom instead of facing him in a match!"  
>"Hmm, plotting murder at school? Well that is very interesting indeed!" Fudge smiled, looking at Harry's enraged face with humor.<p>

"I want him killed for this!" cried Malfoy Senior, a dark gleam in his eyes. "He could go for my son next!"

"Calm yourself Mr. Malfoy. Justice will be dealt, I can assure you of that." Said Dumbledore in a soothing voice, polishing his half – moon glasses.

Harry was sitting, bound in his chair with his mouth hanging open. He was almost numb with the injustice of this whole affair. He decided to do something about it.

"You didn't even let me tell my side!" Harry said hotly, looking Dumbledore right in his blue eyes. "You just betray me and think I'm guilty, but don't let me talk!"

"Harry, I think we all know what happened. Your Uncle beat you, so you got mad and killed him." Dumbledore said, pulling out a Lemon drop and popping it in his mouth.

"I DIDN'T KILL ANYONE!" Harry shouted, now struggling with his chains.

"See what I mean, Minister?" Lucius Malfoy said. "Completely unstable! He needs to be executed for his own good!"

"Yes, I quite agree!" Fudge stammered. "I am satisfied with the evidence that we have! I am ready to make my decision!"

"LISTEN YOU OLD BOTHER!" screamed Harry. "I DIDN'T KILL ANYONE!"

"Harry, stop it!" Hermione scolded. "You killed them and you know it!"

Harry roared in fury, causing Hermione to step back in fright. "ENOUGH!" yelled Dumbledore. "Let Minister Fudge speak!"

"For the crime of killing your family, I sentence you, Harry James Potter to life in Azkaban!" Fudge cried triumphantly, about to bang down his gavel.

Just as in the last trial, Umbridge spoke up at the last second in her annoying, girlish voice. "Forgive me, Minister, but I happen to have experience in dealing with Mr. Potter."

"Ah, yes! I forgot about your time with Harry at Hogwarts, Ms. Umbridge. I'm so sorry!" Fudge cried dramatically, winking at various members of the Wizamont.

"That's quite alright, sir!" she simpered. "I think that Mr. Potter, like his fellow criminal Bellatrix, deserves the death penalty. After all, I know from experience that he is quite capable of escaping from sticky situations. This could be easily avoided with a few simple measures. "

"Now, now Ms. Umbridge!" chided Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "We don't want to kill Harry. I can understand your point of view, but he is not of age yet, so I think -"

At this moment, Fudge spoke up. He was tired of Dumbledore always overruling him and the Ministry. "No Dumbledore, Madam Umbridge is right. We should not let this _lunatic_ threaten us any longer. We will execute him and hour after Lestrange, to make an example."

"But -" began Dumbledore, but was cut off.

"No buts! I control what happens in _my_ court!" Fudge shouted, silencing the old wizard. "Guards! Take Mr. Potter to Azkaban!"

Two Dementers drifted over, but Fudge stopped them. "Not you! Aurors do it! I want to see the fear in his eyes as we lock him in Azkaban. I don't want him fainting like a child."

Two beefy Aurors lumbered in and grabbed Harry, dragging him towards the door.

"I'M INNOCENT! I SWEAR!" screamed Harry, again finding his voice.

"STOP IT POTTER!" yelled a voice.

Harry's eyes widened when he saw who had spoken. "Professor Lupin?"

"Your parents would be ashamed of you, Harry! Get him out of here!"

Harry yelled in rage and dove at Lupin. Knocking him to the ground. The two Aurors that had been holding him were sprawled on the floor a few feet away, having been knocked back in the sudden attack.

"SEE!" shouted Ron, pointing an accusing finger at Harry. "He's trying to do it again! I guess he loves killing too much to stop!"

The Aurors got back up, and bound Harry in black ropes. Remus was looking at Harry with hatred, a black eye already visible. "You deserve everything you get in Azkaban, Harry!"

At these words, Harry tried to jump at him again, but was held back by four Aurors who had come due to the fight that they heard from outside the door.

"Harry, you sicken me!" said Ginny venomously, walking up to him and giving him a sharp slap across the face. "How could you?"

Harry was dragged through the doors. As they were about to slam shut, he shouted bitterly: "YOU'LL ALL SEE SOMEDAY! I SWEAR YOU'LL REGRET THIS!"

With that, the doors closed, muffling the sound of his yells.

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Just out of curiosity, do you think I'm a boy or a girl, and how old am I? Goodbye until next time!**

**PotionmasterSnape**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow! Thanks for all of the reviews guys! I really appreciate them! Ok, well, first off this next chapter will answer any questions you have about Dumbledore reading Harry's mind and whatnot! Please don't think I'm rushing this by writing this in the third chapter, because it's absolutely necessary that you know this! Thanks again for all the reviews!**

**Bold text indicates direct parts taken from cannon (accept for A/N)**

**This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers! Thanks!**

Chapter 3

The Second Prophecy

Arthur Weasley was barley listening to today's boring Order meeting. He was too busy gathering his courage for what he was about to do. He was going to attempt what everyone else seemed not able to do. Confront Albus Dumbledore.

As the meeting was brought to a close (Much to the relief of some), he cleared his throat loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Arthur?" Dumbledore asked, looking up from some papers that he was shuffling. "Did you have something that you wanted to say?"

"Yes, thank you sir," he responded, carefully deciding how to proceed. "I have a question for you that I was hoping you could answer."

"Well? Ask away!" Dumbledore exclaimed cheerfully, popping a fresh Lemon Drop in his mouth with a contented sigh.

"It is a question about Harry Potter. I wondered if you could clear something up?" Arthur said.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Arthur said Harry's name. "What do you want to know about that twisted murderer, Dad?" Ron barked, shoveling down a slice of pie, and splattering his robes with the filling. Across the table, Snape wrinkled his nose is disgust.

"That is between me and the Headmaster, Ronald!" said Mr. Weasley.

Dumbledore sighed dramatically, vanishing the papers with a flick of his wand. "Everyone, please leave us. I need to talk to Arthur in privet."

"Well, I don't see why I can't stay! I'm his son, after all! Plus, you inducted me into the Order yesterday, so why can't I hear?" Ron blurted, now eating Snape's unfinished pie. Snape looked like he wanted to poison Ron, but was resisting that temptation quite well.

"Absolutely not, Ronald! While you may be a member of The Order, there are certain things that a child should not hear. Now please leave."

Ron looked like he was about to argue, but Mrs. Weasley stepped over and grabbed him, promising to make him a batch of Cauldron Cakes to eat. Snape now looked like he was about to vomit, because Ron's dirty robes had brushed against his immaculate black ones.

As soon as everyone left, Albus jumped up and cast wards on the door. Extendable Ears would not be able to listen in on them. Nor would anyone be able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What is it Arthur?" Dumbledore asked, startled as he turned and found Mr. Weasley's face an inch from his own.

"You know what this is about! Harry's trial! You didn't do anything to help him get cleared!"

"Arthur, I'm sorry to tell you this, really I am, but I didn't want Harry to be cleared. He had to go to Azkaban for the greater good! Surly, you understand how this works by now?"

"You what!" yelled Arthur."You _let_ Harry Potter… The Chosen One get locked up in the most dangerous prison the whole world? Why?"

Dumbledore sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I didn't want to have to tell you yet, but Harry Potter is not The Chosen One."

Arthur's mouth dropped open. "You're saying…he's not…that he won't…?" he sputtered, shocked beyond belief.

"Yes, he will not kill Voldemort."

"So you sent him to Azkaban?" Mr. Weasley shouted, regaining use of his voice.

"I knew that Mr. Potter was innocent the first time that I saw him. I read his mind, and it confirmed that he had nothing to do with killing his family. The greater good had to be considered, however. He needed to be locked up in Azkaban. It was either that, or I kill him."

"You'd do WHAT?" Mr. Weasley screamed. He could not believe what he was hearing. The famed Leader of Light sent an innocent boy to Azkaban.

"I also convinced a trustworthy ministry official to steal the Minister's stock of truth serum so there would be none to give to Potter."

"But…why?" Mr. Weasley asked faintly, sitting down in a chair to avoid falling over.

Dumbledore sighed again, and looked around, no doubt looking for any possible eavesdroppers. "There was a prophecy made before Harry's birth. It goes: **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power that the dark lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other…for neither one can live while the other survives…"**

Mr. Weasley was stunned. _So this is why Voldemort wants to kill Harry so badly. _He still, however, did not understand something. "Albus, why did you lock Harry up because of this? If he is to kill Voldemort, then why lock him up?"

"Ah. That is complicated. The prophecy could have applied to two children. Harry Potter or, as strange as it may seem, another boy named Neville Longbottom."

"I still don't see what this has to do with anything!" said Mr. Weasley, crossing his arms.

"Remember the line stating: 'the dark lord will mark him as his equal'?" asked Dumbledore. "Voldemort could have chosen either boy to attack, but he chose Harry. By choosing him, he unknowingly created a magical bond. While Harry is alive, Voldemort is invincible. 'Neither can live while the other survives'. Do you understand now?"

"No. If Harry is to kill Voldemort, how can he do so if he is dead?"

"That's the tricky part. According to the prophecy, Harry OR Neville could kill Voldemort!" Dumbledore explained, shaking his head.

"So you're saying that, as soon as Harry dies in Azkaban, you will have Neville kill Voldemort?"

"That's about right, yes. I would have rather it been Harry to do the deed, but that would be impossible. If Harry was to survive, then Voldemort would still be alive no matter what we did to kill him."

"So no matter what, Harry must die?" asked Mr. Weasley, voice shaking with emotion. Harry was like a son that he never had.

"Unfortunately, yes. However, a few days ago, a new prophecy appeared in the Department of Mysteries. It is rather strange. A loyal contact in the Ministry got it for me. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes," said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head. "Poor Harry. He has no idea what must happen."

"He has a basic idea, but he never thought that he would have to die. He only thought of it as a possibility."

"Shouldn't you tell him? You at least owe him that!"

"No, we can't. No one else but us must know this. It is absolutely vital that this remains secret. Now, onto the new prophecy." From in his majestic blue robes, Dumbledore pulled out a white, glowing ball. It looked to be filled with mist, but as Dumbledore tapped it with his wand, it turned a brilliant golden color.

Suddenly, Mr. Weasley heard many cold, clear voices in his head. He was startled, but calmed himself when Dumbledore gave him a reassuring nod.

"There soon comes the day when the betrayed shall raise…Forsaken by his friends, he will realize his true potential…the bonds that bind him will be nullified…the evil one shall be redeemed…and the spell soon broken…the hero will not be a lord…just a man…forced into hiding by those he once trusted…to be soul bonded to the one he hates…to join with the ones he never knew existed …to kill the dark lord…to leave the world forever…"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, slowly, Mr. Weasley realized what had happened. There was a new prophecy that seemed to overrule the other. He was, quite frankly, terrified. "What does it mean?"

Dumbledore stashed the sphere back in his robes, and shook his head. "I have no idea. The best I can figure, it pertains to either Harry or Neville, because only they can kill Voldemort. I don't however, know any of the details."

"How can it pertain to Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked bitterly. "He is doomed to die because of _you_."

"I can't change the prophecy. I can, however, work with it. That is the best option."

"Wait a minute!" cried Mr. Weasley, looking smug. "You can't let Harry die!"

"Arthur, I know you're upset, but -"

"No, I mean you literally can't!" Arthur cried, looking overjoyed.

"Why ever not?" gasped a confused Dumbledore. He was running through his plan in his mind. _What did I do wrong?_ He wondered.

"Harry, according to the prophecy, must die at Voldemort's hand! If a Dementer kills him, then the prophecy will be unfulfilled!"

Dumbledore relaxed hearing these words. He had already planned for that. "Harry _will_ die at Voldemort's hand. Somewhat indirectly, though.

"Huh?" said Mr. Weasley, the elation he was feeling vanishing.

"Lucius Malfoy is the real cause of Harry's death. He killed the Dursleys, and because of this, Harry was sent to Azkaban. Technically, Lucius is the real cause for his death."

"Yes, but Lucius is not Voldemort!"

"Who employed Lucius? Who ordered Lucius to frame Harry? Whose real fault is it that he will die?" Dumbledore explained, amused at the genius of his master plan.

The tiny bubble of hope in Arthur's chest burst. "I see, now."

"Yes. I know it is a large risk, but it is one that we will need to take. Our very world is doomed if we don't!"

Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore sat quietly for a minute, and then stood up. "Well, sir…I'd better get going. I have to go see Molly and the kids."

Dumbledore looked grave, but nodded.

"Arthur?" he said. Mr. Weasley turned around to see Dumbledore with his wand out. "For the greater good. _Obliviate!_"

Outside the second door that Dumbledore had forgotten to ward, Severus Snape leaned back in shock.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Bellatrix Lestrange sobbed quietly on the floor of her cell. It was a tiny and cramped space filled with dirt and grime. Bellatrix looked a little worse for the wear. She had several deep cuts down her face and arms, plus a black eye.

_There's _o_nly a few more minutes left now_. She thought. Her execution was scheduled for two in the afternoon. It was one thirty.

_What do you think about half an hour before your death? _She wondered. She wasn't given much option, though. Because of the constant stream of Dementers outside her door, she was forced to wallow in her worst memories. Her darkest fears. Being a former Death Eater, she had plenty of those.

Suddenly, an Auror stepped up to her cell and stuck a key in the lock, opening the door. "Ms. Lestrange, you have a visitor."

Bellatrix blinked. _Who would visit me?_ She wondered. She walked out of her dingy cell, barley able to support her own weight. She followed the guard down a dark hallway to a small, windowless room. It was pitch black and there was no one inside.

"What -" she started to ask, but the Auror just closed the door, leaving her alone.

_Maybe it will be someone from Gringotts to settle my affairs. _She thought, but quickly dismissed the idea, as Fudge had taken all her money and put it in his own vault.

Suddenly, Bellatrix detected movement in a dark corner. She turned towards it, and asked: "Who's there?"

A man stepped out of the shadows. He was clad completely in a black cloak that also covered his face. He was tall, but that was all Bellatrix could tell. "Who are you?" she asked again.

The man had a course, raspy voice that chilled Bellatrix to the bone. "That's not important. What is important is that your execution is in twenty two minutes."

Later, Bellatrix would notice that he had no watch on, and there was no clock in the room. "I know." She said, trying to sound braver than she felt.

"Do you think you deserve death?" the man asked.

"Yes, truthfully I do. I murdered dozens of people, and tortured many others. I know I don't _deserve_ to live, but I want to." Bellatrix didn't know why she was telling this man these things, but she felt compelled to speak.

The figure shook his head as if that settled the matter. "What if I told you there was a way to escape this place forever? Would you do it?"

Bellatrix looked at the man shrewdly. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

"You don't and have no reason to. However, you have no choice. It's either this or death. You chose."

Bellatrix had a thought. "Would it be worth it for me to live? After all that I've done? I couldn't make a difference in things."

"Ah, but you show remorse. That makes all of the difference in the world."

Bellatrix felt a flutter of hope in her chest. "Ok, what do I have to do?"

"Take this!" the man said. He handed Bellatrix a tiny bronze key. "Before you leave, use this key to break someone else out. The number of their cell is on the key. Should you fail…the world will be in jeopardy."

Bellatrix gulped. "Who is this person that I'm supposed to save?"

"I cannot tell you that. If I did, you may be reluctant to do the deed. I will give you a clue, though."

"What is it?" asked Bella, a bit apprehensive.

"There soon comes the day when the betrayed shall raise…Forsaken by his friends, he will realize his true potential…the bonds that bind him will be nullified…the evil one shall be redeemed…and the spell soon broken…the hero will not be a lord…just a man…forced into hiding by those he once trusted…to be soul bonded to the one he hates…to join with the ones he never knew existed …to kill the dark lord…to leave the world forever…"

"I – was that a prophecy?" Bellatrix stammered, confused and awed.

"Yes it was. Small parts of it pertain to you, but the majority pertains to another."

There was a knock at the door, causing Bella to jump.

The man in front of her cursed softly. "We are out of time. Bellatrix, do not fight death. Let it come. It will take more courage than anything you will ever do, but let it come. "

"Wait! You mean I should die?"

"Yes. Let the Dementer kill you."

"But what about breaking out, and saving the other?" Bellatrix asked, fear coursing through her like poison.

"Do not worry. All will be made right. Just trust me. I know what I am doing."

Bella was about to say something else, but the figure rushed out of the room, and the Auror came back in. "Get moving!" he barked, pushing her through the door.

Bellatrix was sent back to her cell, where she nervously spent the last ten minutes before her death.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Harry Potter had barely moved an inch on the bench in his cell. He had but an hour and a half left to live. Upon arriving, Harry realized that the Dementers affected him more than he had thought that they would. After only the first few hours in his cell, he was rendered unmoving, screaming as the foul memories of his parent's deaths assaulted his mind.

Eventually, he calmed himself down enough to sit and drink some water that had leaked out of a tiny hole in the wall. _What am I going to do?_ He wondered. _I'll go crazy here if someone doesn't help me!_

But Harry was not the only one with a dire problem…

For Bellatrix, her time was up.

**A/N: Well, to answer some review questions: No, Harry won't forgive most people. (Why would he? Dumbledore tried to get him killed.) Also, yes there will be a lot of Harry getting revenge, and Dumbledore and Weasley bashing! Thanks soooooooo much to everyone who reads and reviews!**

**By the way, for those of you wondering….I am…. (Drum roll please)…..a guy and I'm 14 years old….Mwahahahaha no one thought that was coming….**

**PotionmasterSnape**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello again! People have really been asking for this chapter, so I hope that it's good and that you guys like it! Thank you again for all of the reviews! They really keep me motivated to write and update faster! **

Chapter 4

A Life worth Living

Bella was deep in thought until she heard the footsteps outside her cell. She slowly lifted her head and stared into the eyes of the four severe Aurors that had come to escort her to her death.

"Ms. Lestrange?" one of them asked, inserting a key into the rusty lock of her cell and pulling it open with a heave.

Bellatrix looked at him, but said nothing. She stood shakily, and steadied herself with the bars on her cell door.

"Please follow us," the Auror said, not seeming to care if she answered or not. All of the men (And one woman) were grim – looking and had their wands out and at the ready.

Bellatrix, once again said zilch, and followed the man out of her cell and into the drab hallway. She shuddered as she passed two Dementers standing guard outside the entrance to another row of cells. _Soon one of those will kill me…_ She mused, the reality of what was about to happen not quite sinking in yet.

The small group walked through the maze of passages and hallways that was Azkaban. Bella tried to block out the screaming of the other prisoners as she passed them, but couldn't help but to listen every once in a while. What she heard made her sick to her stomach.

"_No! Please don't kill them!"_

"_I'm innocent! Please no!"_

"_Go away! I never joined you!"_

"_You failed me for the last time! Avada Kedavra!"_

Bellatrix shuddered as they finally passed the bulk of the cells and made their way towards a spiral staircase carved out of black marble. She was made to trudge up it, and at that point is when it really hit her. _I'm going to die!_ She hoped that her mother would be strong. Her mum, Vivian Lestrange, was not dead as so many foolishly thought. She was hidden away in a safe house somewhere where Voldemort would never find her. Bellatrix had made sure of that.

Of course, having these thoughts of her mum made her think about the rest of her family.

"…_Was nothing we could do." Voldemort had told her when her father had died. Marcus Lestrange was a Death Eater, but in an attempted assassination attempt, he and the other members of his team were killed by Aurors. Voldemort had told her this without any remorse. More like disappointment that had had lost a few of his Death Eaters, but nothing more. _

Her husband was a different matter all together. Bellatrix shuddered, and her eyes teared up at the very memory.

_Voldemort approached her husband after he had failed at getting the Prophecy from Potter. "Why is it that you always come back here sniveling about your failures?" He had asked in a silky voice._

"_My lord, I can only apologize, and promise I won't fail you again!"_

"_Oh, I know that." Voldemort had said. "Wormtail…show Mr. Lestrange here how we treat those who are utterly useless to us."_

_Wormtail determinedly stepped forward and raised his wand. Bellatrix tried to cry out, but Voldemort silenced her with a wave of his dreadful wand. _

_Wormtail was sweating, but he also looked determined. "Avada Kedavra!" _

_Her husband fell to the floor, dead._

She was interrupted by a sharp pain in her back. "Will you _move_ already?" cried an indignant voice.

Bellatrix jumped and realized that she must have been standing still for quite a long time. One of the Aurors was prodding her in the back, telling her to move.

She began walking again, while the Auror was muttering something about needing a vacation badly.

They finally reached a trap door above them, and pulled it open. The roar of the waves immediately pounded on her ears. Bellatrix breathed in the salty air as she stepped out onto the roof. Quickly, an Auror grabbed her arm and attached a chain to it. The chain was attached to a steel plate on the floor.

"Let's go!" breathed the female Auror, heading back down the trapdoor. "I just had lunch and don't need to see someone getting their soul sucked out!"

Bellatrix gulped at this. The three other Aurors left, leaving one left with Bella. He had dark brown hair, and was somewhat short. "Okay, let's get this over with!" he said, putting a leg – locker curse on Bella so that she could not run around on the roof.

Bellatrix breathed in as much air as she could, savoring her last time outside. _What will I miss the most?_ She wondered.

She was quickly stopped of these thoughts, however, when the Auror asked the next question. "Are you ready?"

Bellatrix swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to reply in what was a confident voice. "Ready? How can I be ready?"

The Auror reddened and muttered something. "Sorry, I just meant -"

But Bellatrix understood. The man, in spite of all that she had done, was trying to be kind. Maybe there was hope for the wizarding world after all.

She nodded at the man, and he nodded back, some kind of an understanding coming between them. "Sorry you have to go through this. It'll be over quickly."

Bellatrix felt her mouth go dry. _Well, this is it!_ She thought. The Auror once again opened his mouth.

"Are you ready?" he asked again.

This time, Bellatrix, not being able to talk, shook her head. She was as ready as she would ever be.

The Auror nodded, looking pained, and walked over to a second trapdoor on the floor. He waved his wand, and a silver shield appeared around him, shielding from the Dementer that was about to come out of that hatch.

"I'll count down, ok?" the Auror said.

Bellatrix nodded again, mouth too dry to speak.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…" He pulled the door open, and the Dementer flew out.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office at Hogwarts. _There were other benefits to sending Harry to prison! _He realized, brushing his beard out of the way so he could reach the huge jar of Lemon Drops on his desk.

As soon as The Boy Who Lived was shut away in Azkaban, Dumbledore had taken his money (claiming to be Harry's legal guardian) and refurnished his office, and also a good portion of Hogwarts. Additionally, he had bought a lifetime supply of lemon drops, and gave some money to the very poor Weasleys.

Dumbledore sighed in happiness. He was finally relaxing for the first time in years, or so it seemed. From now until Harry died, he could just sit here and wait. Of course, he felt a little guilty of what he was doing, but he kept reminding himself. _It's for the greater good!_

There was a knock on the door. Dumbledore frowned before he remembered that he had sent Colin Creevy for Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Granger.

"Come in!" He called, leaning back in his throne – like chair. His new office was much grander than the old one. He was even able to replace the instruments Harry had smashed in his fit of rage. Everything was perfect!

Ron and Hermione walked in, holding hands. Dumbledore noticed this, and beamed. He was thrilled that Hermione might become a Weasley. They were a delightful family that would be perfect for this young witch.

"Hello children!" smiled Dumbledore, holding out his jar. "Care for a Lemon Drop?"

"Thank you, sir!" grinned Ron, taking one and popping it into his mouth.

Hermione politely refused and sat in one of the two chairs that had appeared in front of the Headmaster's desk.

Dumbledore carefully thought about how to proceed. He wanted to make sure that no one knew his true motives for getting Harry arrested. He just had to make sure, and there was only one way to do that.

"Ron, Hermione…I know you are still distraught about Harry, but I must know why you didn't believe him. I think it would help if we talked about it, and I could give you some tips on how to deal with your grief."

Ron almost choked on his Lemon Drop. "Grief? What are you talking about? He was a traitorous backstabber!" he shouted. "_I _sided against him because I knew what he was like all along! He always wanted attention and was jealous of me. I could definitely see why he went dark! He even heard voices in his head in the second year! He's dangerously unbalanced!"

Hermione took a little more time to answer, and looked uncomfortable when Ron had finished his rant. "Well sir…I sided against Harry because you _and_ the government told me that he was guilty. Plus, all of the evidence was against him. If we don't listen to, and believe our government, we would be lost!"

Dumbledore didn't quite agree with this, and neither did Ron based on that smirk he had. Before Dumbledore could respond, however, Ron started up again.  
>"That attention – seeking brat never knew when enough was enough! He was bound to go dark sooner or later. It was only a matter of time, really."<p>

Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief. These children didn't know anything. "I'm sorry about this, but it is absolutely necessary!" Dumbledore said, pulling out his wand and standing up with a sigh.

"Wh – what are you doing?" Hermione stammered, standing up too, and reaching for her wand. She was too late.

"_Obliviate!_"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

The Dementer flew out of the trapdoor with a terrible rattling breath. Bellatrix felt everything go cold. She almost cried out as the thing drifted nearer, sucking all of the happiness out of her as it came up to her.

_Just get it over with!_ She thought, struggling to keep standing.

The Dementer stood in front of her for a short moment. Then it reached out a scabbed hand from under its cloak and grasped her chin, pulling it upwards towards its hideous mouth.

For Bella, everything went numb. She was aware of something grabbing her chin, and something latching onto her mouth. Then everything went dark.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Bellatrix could not feel her body. There was nothing there. Come to think of it, she could not feel herself thinking anymore. It was all slipping away. Everything was leaving her. She couldn't see and was slowly losing her identity. The first shock came when she couldn't remember her name anymore. Everything else started to follow soon after.

Bellatrix slowly saw a tiny light flare in the distance. She rushed towards it, but how? Not on her own two legs. She still had no body from what she could tell.

The light got bigger and brighter until it filled her vision. She was shocked to see a scene appearing. It was moving. There was a little girl in it. That girl was strangely familiar…

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

_The little girl was small. She looked to be about two or three, maybe four, but it was hard to tell. The girl was cute, with dark black hair that fell in waves to her waist. She wore a blue dress, and carried a basket. _

_Behind her, two others, a man and a woman walked. They both looked like the girl, so one could assume that the couple was the little girl's parents. _

_They stopped at the top of a hill. It was bright and sunny out, with a breeze ruffling the grass. Dew glittered on some leaves that had fallen from under a large oak tree. The family sat and spread out a blanket. They were having a picnic. _

_The girl was laughing as her father chased her around. All was quiet and happy. _

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

_The scene changed. This time, the girl looked older. Maybe eleven or twelve. She was sitting on a stool, something brown and tattered obscuring her vision. _

_She heard a snide voice in her head. "Yes, yes! There's talent here. Definitely talent, but what's this? A tragic future. It will end well, I think. Cunning and fearless too, eh? Well this is tricky! Tricky indeed! Now where to put you? Hmm…I think Ravenclaw would be a nice match, eh?"_

_The girl shuddered. She was filled with a burning desire to be in the Ravenclaw house, but her father had specifically told her. "I expect you to be in Slytherin and none of those other worthless houses!"_

_The girl inwardly shuddered at what her father would say if she was in Ravenclaw._

"_Is there any way that I could be in Slytherin?" she asked. _

"_Well, that would be my second choice, so I guess I could oblige. SLYTHERIN!"_

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

_The scene changed again. _

_There was a group of men and women in a dark room. They were all dressed in identical black cloaks, and had on white, skull shaped masks. One of the men had a terrible white face with snake – like eyes, and a flat, slit nose. _

"_Bellatrix Lestrange, come forward!"_

_The same girl from the other scenes stepped out from the others. This time, she was a young woman. She was quite beautiful, with deep brown eyes and black hair. She was scared to death, though. See never wanted this. Her father had forced her to come. _

_Voldemort pulled out his wand and traced something on her arm that she had thrust forward. The next thing she felt was a terrible, searing pain on her arm. When the pain ended, there was a black mark there. I was shaped like as skull and had a black snake coming out of the jaw. _

"_Welcome to the Death Eaters, my dear!" cackled Voldemort, patting her on the back and ushering her back into the crowd. _

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

_It looked to be many years later when the scene changed. _

_The woman was a little older. She was still pretty, but had an insane look in her eyes. She had her wand trained on two young Aurors who screamed and screamed in pain. _

_Voldemort had to use the Imperious curse to force her to do this. She didn't like it at all! She didn't want to hurt these people! But wait? What was that sound? _

_The door to the room she was in burst open and some operatives from the Order of the Phoenix charged in, wands drawn and ready. _

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

_The young woman dueled with her favorite cousin in the Department of Mysteries. The man shot deadly blasting curses and cutters at her._

_She didn't want to hurt her cousin Sirius. They had grown up together being best friends. She made up her mind and shot a stunner at him. The woman watched in horror as the spell hit Sirius and pushed him through the veil… _

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

The images sped up, going faster and faster. Bellatrix remembered her name. She remembered who she was. She saw a wooden coffin being lowered into a grave with her name on it…

A voice suddenly pierced her head. It was sharp like a needle, and hurt her head to hear it. "That day will come, but it is not today."

Bellatrix's eyes snapped open, and she promptly threw up all over the young Auror bending over her.

"What the!" he cried, tripping over his robes and falling.

Bellatrix shakily stood up. The chains binding her were gone and so was the Dementer. The leg – locker must have worn off, too. She was back in the world. She was not dead!

The Auror got over being puked and, and stared at Bella in complete shock. "H – how? You died – I saw…"

"I'm really sorry about this!" she said, and grabbed the man's wand.

The Auror yelled in terror and tried to dodge, but was caught by Bella's stunner before he could go a foot. Bella stood over him. "_Obliviate!_"

Bellatrix then pulled open the trapdoor and rushed down the stairs. _It is time to escape! _She thought. If only it would be that easy.

**A/N: I thought that was a nice twist, adding the memory thing. Hoped you all liked it! Those memories were meant to give you an idea of how Bella is innocent. I tried to make it so that Bella felt like you do when you have a surgery and they knock you out. You don't even know you exist and are a little sick when you wake up. **

**Cheers!**

**PotionmasterSnape**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hope you all like this chapter! I realize that I got Bellatrix's parents names wrong and I'll try and fix that soon! Thanks to everyone that pointed that out!**

Chapter 5

Daring Escape

As soon as Bella reached the bottom of the steps, she ran into the other three Aurors that had escorted her to her execution.

"Hey! What are you doing?" one of the men yelled, raising his wand.

Bellatrix tried playing innocent, but had her wand ready to use. "Nothing…What are you talking about?"

The man looked confused for a moment. Bellatrix saw this as a chance, and raised her wand. "Watch out!" yelled the female Auror.

The other two men reacted just in time, erecting a transparent shield that Bella's stunner bounced off of.

Bellatrix cursed and dove behind the stairway, firing more stunners at the men on the other side of the marble.

"Call for help!" yelled one of them, as a stunner knocked his bowler hat off.

"Forget the help!" cried the woman. "They won't get here in time! Kill her!"

The other two nodded, and they all started to fire killing curses into the gap that Bellatrix was hiding in. Bella flattened herself against the wall and fired off a harmless, but loud spell that banged and made a huge flash. The Aurors yelled in shock and dove to the side, but not before Bellatrix blasted one of them with a body – bind curse. The man was frozen in place and fell over.

"Give up!" yelled the woman, shooting a blasting curse at Bellatrix.

"Never!" she yelled back, and disarmed the woman with a flick of her wand. A simple binding spell made the woman no longer a threat.

The final man, seeing he was the last one of his friends with a wand, tried to run, but was caught by a stunner and was blasted into the wall behind him.

Bellatrix, breathing heavily, picked up the Auror's wands. She snapped two (They let out a shower of red sparks when she did this) but kept one for the mysterious person she had to rescue, because she doubted they had one.

Bella then rushed down the hallway and pulled out the key from in her robes. She looked at the number on the side. 1465. Bellatrix cursed. This was one of the highest security vaults that was guarded by Dementers twenty – four – seven.

She made her way towards the high security wing, ducking around a corner every time a Dementer passed. When she got to the right hallway, she saw it being patrolled by no less than ten Dementers! Bella looked around for a bit, then decided on an old Muggle trick to distract the Dementers long enough to reach the correct cell.

She used a simple charm to gouge a bit of rock out of the wall, then picked it up and threw it at the wall directly opposite her. The rock impacted with a huge clatter. The Dementers turned towards the sound and drifted over to investigate. Bella, seeing her chance, rushed into the hallway.

She made her way down the row of cells. 1462, 1463, 1464…finally, Bella found cell 1465. She peered into the cell warily. She saw the prisoner lying motionless on the floor. She couldn't, however tell who it was because his head was facing towards the wall.

Bella slid the key into the lock, and carefully pulled open the door so as not to make any noise. She walked in and crouched next to the man. Now she could see that he had black hair that was streaked with fine grey strands. She cautiously laid a hand on the man's shoulder. He turned slowly over.

Faster than Bellatrix would have thought possible, his hands shot up and found her neck. She was roughly forced to the ground. Bella gasped in pain as she felt something in her shoulder snap. "Wait!" she croaked, unable to talk due to the hands around her throat.

The grip let up ever so slightly, but the man didn't get off of her. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Bellatrix was staring into the fiery gaze of Harry Potter.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

A/N: (I can't really do Hagrid's accent very well, so bare with me)

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger walked quickly down the narrow, grassy path to Care of Magical Creature's class. They were nearly late, but managed to slip into the rest of the group without anyone noticing.

"Alright class!" said Hagrid in his deep voice. "Today we're going to be doing Hippogriffs. Now, can anyone tell me what the proper way to approach one is?"

Hermione's hand shot up and Hagrid called on her. "Well, you should always bow first. You should also keep eye contact. If the Hippogriff bows back, then it is ok to pet it. If, however, it doesn't, you should back away."

"That's very good! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Hagrid said, beaming at his favorite student.

Hermione looked smug at this, but said nothing. Ron was grumbling and rubbing his arm where Hermione had hit it raising her hand.

"Now, who would like to try an' pet one?" Hagrid asked, looking hopeful.

Most of the class shook their heads and backed away. Neville, however, suddenly stepped forward. "I would, sir!"

"Excellent!" said Hagrid. "Here, why don't you try Buckbeak over there?"

Neville walked forward and towards Buckbeak. Buckbeak was a majestic Hippogriff with silver feathers and bright yellow eyes. Neville looked a little nervous, but bowed and kept his eye contact just like he was taught. After a moment's consideration, Buckbeak slowly bowed back and let Neville stroke his silky feathers.

"Well done Neville!" cried Hagrid, clapping along with most of the class. Both Ron and Malfoy did nothing. "I haven't seen 'ol Beaky take to anyone like that! Why, only Harry could pet him like that!"

Ron, who had gotten a T (Troll) on his potions test earlier today, was feeling very angry. "Oh please! Everyone says how Potter is so great! I bet anyone could do that! Why anyone would want to pet a great stupid beast is beside me, though!"

Buckbeak cawed loudly, eyes flashing. He lowered his beak and charged at Ron. Inside his head, he was thinking: _Ungrateful little Weasel insults me and my master! HE MUST DIE!_

Ron screamed a high – pitched scream as Buckbeak bore down on him, kicking him into the dirt. Hagrid tried to stop him, but Buckbeak reared up and slashed Ron's arm. There was a spray of blood, and Ron fell over, screaming in agony. Buckbeak smashed Hagrid aside and slashed Ron again. This time, his claw grazed his stomach, and Ron didn't get back up.

"Hagrid!" Hermione screamed. She had her wand out and looking like she might try attacking the Hippogriff. "Do something!"

The half giant grabbed Buckbeak with his huge hands and managed to drag him away from Ron. Hermione rushed over and tried to stem some of the bleeding. In that short time, however, Ron was covered in blood and very pale. He was still trying to insult Buckbeak.

"Dirty great beast almost killed me! I'll have it executed for this!"

Hermione silenced him and Hagrid rushed over, having tethered Buckbeak to a thick tree with magic chains.

"Don' worry! I got him!" Hagrid shouted, and scooped up Ron in his arms.

"Hagrid, how could you let that happen? Are you going to punish Buckbeak?" Hermione ranted, storming up to him as soon as he returned from the hospital wing.

"No I'm bloody well not!" he exclaimed. "Beaky was minding his own business when Ron insulted him!"

"What? Ron was only upset because he had mentioned Harry! It's been really hard on him, having his best friend turn out to be a murderer!"

At this, Hagrid turned to Hermione with a fiery look in his eyes. Hermione stepped back. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a teacher! You should be ashamed of yourself! I thought you were Harry's friend! You didn't give him any chance to prove himself not guilty!"

Hermione puffed out her chest and opened her mouth. "Why are you taking points from us? If anything, you should take them from Slytherin!"

Hagrid looked sickened. "Oh so that's all you care about, is it? House points?_ I _don't care! Another twenty points from Gryffindor!"

Hermione was stunned. "Hagrid, we used to be Harry's friend but when he went dark…"

"And you believed that rubbish? Nice friend you are! Harry was always there for you! He would have done anything to help you _or_ Ron! You are a shameful excuse for a Gryffindor!"

And with that, Hagrid walked back to his cabin, leaving Hermione alone.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Harry looked down at Bella in shock. The last person he had wanted to see was trying to help him?

"I asked what you are doing here!" growled Harry.

"I was sent to rescue you! Honest. I didn't mean to kill Sirius!" Bella whimpered, Harry's hands still clamped around her neck.

Harry snorted. "Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to trust you? _Oh gee! I murdered my cousin! Opps! I didn't mean it!_"

Bella got tears in her eyes. "I was only trying to stun him, because I knew that Voldemort would try to kill him. The stunner just knocked him backwards and into the veil! Really, I swear!"

Harry thought about this carefully. He hated to admit it, but it made sense. "Well, what about the Longbottoms? Did you '_not mean to_' torture them into insanity?"

Now Bellatrix did start to cry. "I didn't do that! It was Voldemort. He was controlling me! I never wanted to be a Death Eater! My dad made me! He forced me to take the dark mark!"

Harry was shocked. Was this witch innocent like he was? Had she been framed for everything like he had been?

Bella stopped crying when she heard footsteps outside their cell. "Shh! Someone's coming!"

Harry decided something at that moment. He wasn't going to stay here. He wasn't going to listen to his parents die over and over. And the thing that surprised him the most was: He was going to trust this witch.

Harry jumped off of Bella and pulled her up. She, in turn handed him a wand from in her pocket. How she had gotten one was beyond Harry.

He grasped it and rushed out of the cell, stunning a guard that had come close to seeing them. Bellatrix and Harry rushed down towards where they thought the exit must be. Suddenly, they heard a terrible alarm blaring from what seemed to be the walls themselves.

"Bellatrix! They know!" Harry whispered, ducking back as he saw a squad of Aurors coming their way.

"What do we do?" she asked, readying for a fight.

They were surrounded. From behind them, another group of Aurors, along with a Dementer charged down the hall.

"There!" one shouted, firing a spell at them.

Harry jumped out from their hiding place and shot a volley of cutting curses at the closest man. The wizard screamed as the spell sliced into his shoulder, making him drop his wand.

"We got them!" shouted another Auror, before Bellatrix stunned him.  
>His shout had alerted several more Dementers, who started to swarm the hall.<p>

Harry cursed and blasted one out of the way. They needed to escape now! Harry grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her down another small hallway. They ran for their lives. Harry groaned. The hallway ended about twenty feet ahead. A dead end.

From down the hall came shouts and the sound of deadly spell fire. Harry scanned the walls, looking for somewhere to hide. He saw a metal grate. He pulled it off the wall and gazed down. It seemed to lead into a dark tube that was sloped.

"This way!" he told Bellatrix, and dove into the hole. Bella hesitated for a moment and dove in after him.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Bellatrix felt something splashing around her, and smelled something that appeared to be rotten fish. She fell into something wet and quickly lit her wand.

They were standing in a brick tunnel. The floor was covered in brown, murky water that swirled and tugged at their feet. The walls were splattered with slime. They were in a sewer tunnel.

Bella wrinkled her nose. "How do we get out of here?"

"I have no idea!" Harry said, shaking some slime off his hand.

"The current's moving that way!" said Bella, pointing down the tunnel.

And so she and Harry began walking. They were silent; not talking to each other, but Harry couldn't help but to sneak glances at the witch next to him. _She's really_ _quite pretty._ Harry thought, but shook his head. _No! She killed Sirius! Plus she's about four years older than me!_ A sly voice came into Harry's head. _But what if you don't care?_

What seemed to be hours later, they stopped. The water now swirled and crash violently. Harry and Bella carefully walked on one of the brick paths flanking the tunnel and looked down. They were standing over an enormous waterfall. It crashed down hundreds of feet before ending in darkness.

Harry swore violently. "Merlin's underpants! Now we're stuck!"

Bella shook her head in frustration. "Sooner or later, we're going to need to eat some food or drink!"

Harry grimaced. Things were looking pretty grim.

Bellatrix turned around and suddenly found herself slipping on a wet piece of paper. She cried out, but Harry was too slow to react. She crashed into him, knocking them both down the waterfall.

**A/N: I know this chapter was short – *dodges rotten apples. The others will be much longer! Hope you liked it! Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers! **

**Just a warning: It might be a few days before I can update, cause I'm pretty busy this week, but I'll try to write two chapters at once to make up for it. **

**Cheers!**

**PotionmasterSnape**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the long wait I've been really busy. Hope that this makes up for it. I do realize that I made a slight mistake as to Bella's age. I meant to put 10, but somehow I must've hit 4 by accident…just pretend it says 10 until I can fix it…Thanks for all of the awesome reviews and feedback! I really appreciate it! It keeps me writing!

Chapter 6

Islands, Assassins, and Cloaked Men

Bellatrix cracked open one eye. Her vision was clouded by a blinding light. She groaned and shielded her eyes. There was a tangy smell in the air. What was it and why was it so familiar? It smelled almost like an ocean, but they weren't…or were they…

Bella sat up slowly and looked around. A few feet from her, Harry was slowly getting up, groaning and holding his head. _Uh oh, this isn't good._ Was her first thought. They were on an island. It was barren and small; only about fifty feet across. It was covered in fine white sand, but other than that, was featureless.

"Harry!" called Bella, shaking the man in question. He just moaned and held his head. "Are you alright?"

He slowly looked up. "Where are we?"

"I have no idea! I just woke up too!"

Harry saw the ocean all around them and cursed, sitting up quickly. "How did we even survive that waterfall?" he asked.

"I cast a cushioning charm on us right before we hit the bottom, but the strain blasted the wand out of my hand and flung us away from Azkaban, I guess."

"Thanks for saving our lives," said Harry gratefully.

"I wasn't ready to die yet. Plus, you have to kill Voldemort. You have to live." She said coolly, but then cried out when she waved her hand.

"You're hurt," noticed Harry, pointing to her hand.

The hand that the wand had been blasted out of earlier was blackened and swollen. It was cut in several places and had a reddish color to it. Not a good sign.

"It's nothing really." Mumbled Bella, but gasped in pain when Harry grabbed it to look at it closely.

"Nothing really?" smirked Harry, setting it carefully down. "You have to clean that out or it could get infected."

The young witch, grumbling all the way, made her way to the edge of the island. She stuck her hand in the water, and screamed as the salt burned the wound.

"Why'd you do that!" asked Harry, wincing as she hobbled back over to him after a few minutes.

"You said to clean it!"

"Yeah, but I didn't mean…oh never mind!"

"What do we do now?"

Harry thought about this. There were several ways a witch or wizard could travel. Apparition was out. No wand and the process would be useless. Portkey definitely wouldn't work. No wand and no idea how to make one. Floo…Oh yippy! Let's just hop into the fireplace over there and be on our way! They were on an island for Merlin's sake!

"I have no idea. We could always do what muggles do and make a raft."

Bella scoffed. "A raft! We don't even have wood! How're we supposed to do that?"

"Sorry, just an idea," mumbled Harry sheepishly.

"Never mind!" sighed the witch. "What are we going to do?"

Harry looked around carefully but found nothing they could use to help themselves. "I don't know. I just don't know."

O-O_O-O_O-O

A few days earlier -

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his chair sucking on a Lemon Drop. He was relaxing and waiting for an important owl. Today was the day that Harry Potter would die. It was regretful, yes, but also necessary. He had, indeed grown rather fond of the young boy. Unfortunately, the prophecy must be carried out.

There was a sharp rap at the door to his office.

"Come in!" Dumbledore called, straightening his hat and sitting in a more dignified position.

The door swung open and Minerva McGonagall strode in the room. She was holding a piece of parchment in her hand. It was sealed with a black stamp shaped like a crow.

_Finally the letter from Azkaban!_ Thought Dumbledore joyously, reaching out a hand. His worries would now be over! "Thank you Minerva!" he said with a mad twinkle in his eyes.

"You are quite welcome, headmaster." She said in a flat voice.

"Something the matter?" asked the old wizard, peeling the seal off the letter.

"It's just that Potter's execution is today and…he just seemed so…so…_normal! _Really Albus are you sure he killed his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin? It just seems so preposterous!"

"Alas, I wish I could tell you that he never murdered them, but he did!" lied Dumbledore smoothly. He was rather good at mistruths. After all, he _had_ told many of them throughout his years.

Minerva sighed and turned to leave. At that moment, Dumbledore had taken out the letter and started to read. By chance, the transfiguration professor happened to turn around to say something else. She was worried by what she saw.

Dumbledore was as white as a ghost staring at the letter. He was making a funny sound in his throat, and started to cough violently.

"Albus!" cried Minerva. She pointed her wand at him and spoke a spell to stop someone from choking. "_Gulia!_"

Dumbledore gave a final cough and spit out his Lemon Drop. It dropped onto his desk and rolled away. Dumbledore frantically scooped it off the floor and popped it into his mouth. "Thank you Minerva!"

"Good heavens! What happened?" she cried, snatching up the letter.

"No!" cried Dumbledore, yanking it out of her hands. "You should not read this!"

"What possibly could be in that letter that would upset you this much!" the old witch cried, flinging up her hands.

"Minerva, Harry potter escaped from Azkaban."

V – V – V – V – V – V – V

The Chosen One's stomach rumbled loudly, causing Bellatrix to give him a withering look.

"Sorry, I haven't eaten in a few days!" he mumbled, trying to relax.

Bellatrix just shook her head, but smiled slightly. _How are we going to get out of here? _She wondered as they lay pathetically on the white sand.

Harry too was having similar thoughts. _Agh! What are we going to do? I don't want to be stuck with _her _for __the rest of my life! _But then, that thought was put to rest with his next idea. _Forget the rest of my life; we'll be dead within a week if we don't find food and water._

"Any new ideas?" asked Bella, drawing in the sand with a stick she had found.

"None. You?" responded Harry.

Bellatrix only sighed and continued to play with the sand. "We could drown ourselves."

Harry glared at her. "I haven't gotten Dumbles back for framing me, so I don't have the wonderful opportunity of dying yet. Plus, I thought you said you weren't ready to die yet?"

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. "Well then, what do _you_ think we should do?"

"Swim back to land?" Harry muttered, knowing it was a stupid idea.

"Swim back to land? Do you have any idea -?"

"I know, I know."

They sat still for a while, not doing anything significant. Harry was dozing off in the warm sun, when Bella started to talk again. When Harry turned towards her, however, he noticed she was a lot more pale than usual.

"Harry, I think…" she began, but then stopped and stood shakily.

"Hey? Are you feeling ok?" Harry asked, starting to get worried.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine!" panted Bella, and then fell over.

"What the Merlin?" shouted Harry and rushed over to her. She was sweating and looked a sickly green color. Even more worrisome, she appeared to be unconscious.

Harry shook his head to clear it. _What do I do? _He wondered. He had no experience with first aid, no doubt because the Dursleys hadn't wanted him to be able to survive if he got hurt.

Bella had gotten even paler in the last few minutes, and now was breathing shallowly. She also twitched every now and again.

Harry tried to apparate without and wand, but nothing happened. He was now desperate, seeing as Bella seemed to be going into some sort of a coma.

"COME ON!" he yelled in frustration, as another attempt left him sprawled in the warm sand.

Suddenly, Harry felt a tug in his gut. He gasped in pain as it grew stronger and stronger. There was something happening, and all Harry knew was that it was very painful. He felt like someone was ripping open his chest. He gasped in pain and fell over, still gripping Bellatrix's cloak.

Harry was at the point where he was hoping for death. The pain was too much. His vision was darkening. _No! I can't die! Bella needs help!_ He thought, but the pain was winning the battle.

Harry couldn't take it anymore. His knees buckled. There was a flash of light, and everything went dark.

[ - ] – [ - ] – [ - ] – [ - ]

Outside the Ministry of Magic, a man was waiting. He was clad in black robes that hid his face. It was a clear, crisp day. In only a few moments, the Minister of Magic would walk up this street with a horde of reporters and security.

Right as expected, Fudge stepped around the corner surrounded by Aurors. A trail of reporters followed behind, being held back by the MLE (Magical Law Enforcement). It was time to act.

As the Minister approached, the figure drew back his wand. This will be quick and clean. The Aurors never saw anything coming.

"_Interficio Maximus!_" intoned the man, pointing his wand at the bumbling fool that was Fudge.

Cornelius, for a second did nothing. He had that goofy grin on his face. Then, the smile faded. For a moment, Fudge locked eyes with the cloaked man. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and then fell over, hitting the cement quite hard.

There was a scream from one of the reporters. The Aurors looked around frantically, looking for the assassin. They saw the man and raised their wands.

No worries. He was prepared for this. "_Laedo Ledo!_" he said, waving his wand in a slow sweeping pattern. There was a blast of hot air, and all of the Aurors were sent flying. They hit the sidewalk in various states of harm. The worst having broken bones. The rest were only knocked over.

The man stood for a moment, looking at the reporters. _It won't do to have them distribute my picture!_ He thought, eyeing the cameras.

"_Extermino!_" he whispered. There was a sizzling sound, and the reporter's camera's erupted into flames. The panicked men and women did the sensible thing. They dropped their equipment and ran for their lives.

The cloaked man stood still for a moment, listening to the foolish backup Aurors getting stuck in the phone booth/elevator as they came to kill him. He smirked, and in a flash, was gone.

The cloaked man reappeared in front of an elegant house made of gleaming gray marble. He walked up the drive, and was about to open the door, when there was a flash of light. With a thump, a man and a woman appeared out of nowhere.

The man had his wand drawn instantly, but lowered it when he saw that they were both unmoving. He walked over to them and knelt down. They were both alive, but in a coma state. The man noticed something. _What was that?_ He pulled the other man's hair back. On his forehead was a lightning bolt – shaped scar.

! - ! - ! - ! - ! - ! - !

Severus Snape was reading the paper in his small house on Spinners Lane. He was pretending to act cool and collected as usual, but in his head, a battle was raging.

_You know Potter is innocent! Do something! _Said one voice.

_No, you hate that Potter brat!_ Sneered another.

_You own him a life debt. His father saved your life! If you don't repay him, you could lose your magic! Do you want that?_

Privately, Snape agreed with the first voice, but it was too late now. Potter was probably already dead.

Snape shook his head and threw down his paper in disgust. _What to do, what to do?_

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Severus walked over and pulled it open, revealing a hooded man.

"May I help you?" said the Potions Master in his usual icy tone.

"Are you Severus Snape? Son of Ellen Prince?" asked the man.

"And just why do you care to know?" sneered Snape. He tried to break into the man's mind, but was surprised to find it heavily guarded.

"I wouldn't try that again, or you may find yourself with fewer limbs than you desire!" threatened the man, eyes flashing murderously.

Snape narrowed his eyes but said nothing other than: "Yes I am Severus Snape."

"Good. You will come with me."

Snape looked at the man with a reasonable amount of suspicion. "Who are you and how dare you order me around?" growled Snape, drawing his wand.

"I can't tell you that."

"What is this about?" said Snape in his silkiest voice, trying to intimidate the man.

"This is about Harry Potter."

A/N: Another short chapter. Sorry about that. For those of you who are wondering: Of course Snape will turn out to be good! My penname is PotionmasterSnape for a reason :p this story I think will take a turn no one expected. For those of you who are worried, Bellatrix will live and you'll find out what happened to her next chapter. I might not be able to write for a few weeks because we are going on vacation! Oh and by the way….here's my non – private email for anyone who wants it.

Goodbye until next time!

PotionmasterSnape


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm getting ready to have rotten apples thrown at me. *Ducks behind a brick wall. I am going to make several dramatic twists to the plot that most of you will probably hate me (Or maybe not) for. I promise that everything will work out at the end of the story. Just bare with me and you'll see as the chapters update. Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! Take heart in knowing that you motivate me to keep writing!**

Chapter7

Lies, Deceit, Money, Manors, Weddings, and Dogs

Harry Potter slowly peeled open his eyes. He was in a darkened room somewhere. Where though? The ceiling was a pleasant navy blue color. As he craned his head, he could make out dark brown walls adorned with paintings of various people.

Suddenly, he got the wind knocked out of him by a tiny body. "Master Harry finally retuned!" shrieked the little house elf, looking up at Harry's face with its huge, round eyes.

Harry, who had some experience with elves, told her gently: "Er, sorry but I can't breathe!"

The elf sprung off the bed and landed back on the floor. "I is so sorry master! I is just missing Master Harry! I haven't seen you sense you was a baby!"

The memories of what had happened slowly came back to Harry. He remembered the pain, the flash of light, Bellatrix…Bellatrix!

"Quick! My friend, she's hurt or something!" said Harry to the little elf. "I'm not really sure what happened! She just passed out, and I -"

"Master must calm down or he could hurt himself! Tinky already took care of Miss Bella and she is all better now!"

Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief, but was still on his guard. "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

"I is Tinky, sir! You met me a long, long time ago, but not since." The little elf was wearing a clean toga – like garment with a coat of arms stitched on the sleeve.

"When did we meet? I don't remember you!"

Tinky shook her tiny head sadly. "I is not seeing you since you were but a baby, sir! I is missing young master!"

Harry was formulating an idea in his head. "Tinky, is it?" When the little elf nodded, he continued. "Tinky, where are we?"

"Ah, sir, I was hoping you would ask! We is in Potter Manor, sir!"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

In a dark forest far away, something was moving. Through the tall grass and tangled tree trunks came a medium – sized black animal. He was lithe and black with pointy ears and big paws. It was a shaggy black dog.

The animal limped out of the trees and into a small village nestled under the shadow of a mountain. He walked up the street and stopped at a garbage bin.

The dog reached his muzzle inside and grabbed a newspaper. The bin swayed and fell, causing a loud noise. The owner of the shop ran out and yelled at the mutt, brandishing a broom, but the dog bolted back into the forest and out of harm's way.

Back in a damp forest cave, the dog peered at the paper. The headline read:

**Harry Potter, the Boy Who Killed**

**By Rita Skeeter **

A few weeks ago, Harry Potter, age fifteen, was convicted of the horrible murder of his loving Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin. Inside sources with the MLE (Magical Law Enforcement) state that Mr. Potter snuck up on the defenseless muggles and bound them with ropes. He then proceeded to brutally slit their throats despite their pleas for help. Evidence of Cruciacous exposure is also present, suggesting that Potter tortured his kind family before finally killing them. When Albus Dumbledore reached the scene, Harry tried to kill him using the infamous Avada Kedavra curse. Worse still, his friends Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and his lover Ginny Weasley all say what a becoming dark wizard Mr. Potter is. "I always knew he was dangerous!" said Ronald. "He was always jealous of me and talked about killing Draco Malfoy almost every day! He also tried to kill Hermione by locking her in a bathroom with an enraged troll!" Hermione Granger also had some serious concerns about this troubled young boy. "He was always a troublemaker. Back in our third year, he helped the mass – murderer Sirius Black escape from Azkaban. He was also trying to steal the Sorcerer's stone in our first year. I don't know what he would have done if he got it. Probably would have handed it off to Voldemort." Ministry officials were shocked to hear this, but were even more disturbed by Ginny Weasley's comments. "Yeah, Potter was a dark wizard from the start." She states. "He fed me a love potion so we would get married. Then he would steal what little money we had, and escape to Romania! I think I would have been killed had the Aurors not stopped him! He got me pregnant in our fifth year. Luckily, Madam Pomfrey was able to catch it early on, and was able to stop the baby from growing." And there you have it. What caused this young boy to go wrong? Who is responsible? All these questions and more will be answered in my new book: Harry Potter - Disturbed Killer

**Next – Draco Malfoy gives us an exclusive interview of how Potter tried to kill him during a Quidditch match!**

**Watch out for – James Potter – Hero or Death Eater?**

The dog yelped loudly and turned to rush out of the cave. Before he could, however, two newer papers caught his eye.

**Killer on the Loose! **

**By Rita Skeeter**

Harry Potter, convicted of murdering his Muggle Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin, escaped from Azkaban yesterday! Officials say that Potter is on the run with none other than You – Know – Who's top death eater, Bellatrix Lestrange! An hour before he was supposed to be kissed, Lestrange helped to free Potter and then they both escaped. No one has seen anything regarding the murderers since, but Aurors have been given permission to kill on sight.

**Stay around for – Bellatrix Lestrange – You – Know – Who's Girlfriend?**

**And also– Lily Potter – Student or Spy? **

**Cornelius Fudge Assassinated!**

**By Rita Skeeter**

Last night, our wonderful minister was assassinated by a strange man. Sources inside the MLE think that this heinous crime was carried out by none other than Harry Potter himself! A former friend and teacher of Potter's; a Miss Minerva McGonagall states: "I have no doubt that Potter killed him. He wanted revenge because Fudge sentenced him to death at the trial. Potter is more than capable of murder." Mr. Potter's (Or should we now officially call him the Boy Who Killed?) other teacher, a Mr. Severus Snape said: "I don't think that Potter killed the Minister. He is too soft to kill anyone. He wouldn't have the guts." But other sources close to Mr. Snape say that he is merely acting on a life debt owed to Harry Murderer's dangerous and possibly dark father. We'll keep you updated on any new developments.

**Next Week – Severus Snape – Potion master or pinhead?**

**Stick around for – Harry Potter – Is he You – Know – Who's grandson? **

The large dog growled loudly, and bolted out of the cave. He ran into the trees, and was swallowed by darkness.

:) - :( - :D - :p – :3 - :s - :l - :/

"Potter Manor?" gasped Harry, jumping out of bed.

"Yes, sir! You is in Potter Manor!"

"How come I was never told about this place? Has it always been here?"

"Ah, sir… the bad man that eats lemon candies forbade you from knowing about it. I is trying to contact you, but poor Tinky is chased by bad elves with knives every time I try!"

"Wait, Dumbledore can come here?" Harry almost shouted.

"No sir, he can no come here, but he also no tell you about this place so you never come. He is trying to break the wards, sir! Then the bad old coot will come in!"

Harry snorted when Tinky called Dumbledore: 'Bad old coot' but quickly became serious. "How can I stop him from ever getting in?"

"Sir, all you is needing to do is speak the wards you wish to use, and since you are the heir of the Potters, they will appear for you!"

Harry thought for a few minutes, and opened his mouth. "I want anti - apparition wards along with anti – phoenix wards. I also need the most advanced secrecy and shielding wards available."

After these words, there was a loud humming noise and a rushing feeling. "Master did it!" cried Tinky, hugging Harry again. She frowned when she felt around his waist. "You is not eating well Mr. Harry! You must come downstairs and let Tinky make you and Ms. Bella some breakfast!"

Harry nodded gratefully, and followed Tinky into a large and ornately decorated hall. "This way master!" said Tinky.

Harry followed her down the sweeping marble stairs and into a lavish sitting room. "You wait here Master Potter, and I be a good elf and bring you food!"

"Thanks Tinky, I really appreciate it!" said Harry gratefully.  
>"Well, the zombie finally wakes!" came a voice from the couch.<p>

Bellatrix sat there, reading a leather – bound book. She looked much better, other than being a little pale. Harry's breath caught as she smiled at him.

_Not again! _He thought as he felt the same voices as before coming into his head.

Bellatrix frowned at the blank look on Harry's face. "Are you ok?"

He shook his head. "What? Oh, yes, I'm fine! How are you doing?"

"Good, thank you for asking. Tinky fixed me up. She thinks that my hand got infected and somehow poisoned my blood."

Indeed, Bella's hand was wrapped in a thick bandage.

"Glad to here you're feeling better!" Harry smiled, truly glad.

"How did we even get here?"

"I have no idea. I guess I did some wandless apparition, or something like that."

Bella nodded. It was not unheard of, but only if the wizard was in serious trouble was it even possible.

"So Harry, what are the plans for today?"

Harry took a while to respond. "I was thinking about going to Gringotts to see if I can regain some of my money. I need to find a way for us to be proven innocent. I can only hope that Fudge will not find out."

"Uh, Harry? Fudge is dead." Bellatrix said.

"What?" Harry gasped, and quickly yelled in anger as he read the paper.

"Calm down!" smirked Bella, pushing him down onto the couch. "You know The Prophet! They always accuse people of stuff they didn't do!"

"At least Snape stuck up for me! I wonder what his real motives are."

"I don't know, but they can't be anything good."

Harry nodded numbly, and was grateful when Tinky came back with some Breakfast. "Eat up, Mr. Potter! You is needing to eat more food so you don't shrivel up!"

Harry laughed and quickly made short work of the generous meal. "Well, I'd better be off. I have many things to do!"

Bellatrix scooped up her cloak. "Good! I'll come with you."

Harry nodded and the two walked out the door. They made it about half way down the cobbled driveway before Harry stopped. "Oh Merlin!" he said. "I forgot we don't have wands!"

"Oh, don't worry!" said Bellatrix, reaching into her cloak. She pulled out a dark oak wand. "Tinky gave them to me."

Harry took his, with a murmur of thanks, and they disapparated away.

H _ H – H _ H – H_H

Deloris Umbridge sat in her pink – colored office. She had just finished instructing a group of young interns on how to make Anti – Potter Posters, as they were called.

Oh how she wished she could have killed that brat when he was in her clutches. Now that her beloved minister was dead, she had a lot more work to do on a day to day basis.

_I think a warm cup of tea would be in order! _She said to herself, grabbing the necessary cups and teabags. She brewed the drink and poured it into the cup. Taking a sip, she settled back into her chair to sign some various forms that needed signing.

Umbridge suddenly got a small headache. She disregarded it, and went back to work. Exactly ten minutes later, she slid off her chair and fell to the floor dead. Her face never changed expressions.

Miles away, in an abandoned shack, a hooded figure watched through his crystal ball as the woman fell over. Everything was going as planned. Next it was the Weasley girl's turn.

V VVVV

Harry and Bella appeared in front of the wizarding bank Gringotts. They both had their hoods pulled up to hide their faces. The crowd around them hustled and bustled, but thanks to the goblin guards at the doors, none came near the two.

They entered the white marble bank and walked up to the front desk. "Excuse me? I'd like to see an account manager _in private_!" Harry said, glancing around nervously.

The old goblin at the desk scrutinized Harry, and nodded his head. "Please follow me, sir!"

They were led into a dark back room where another goblin was sitting. He looked strangely familiar to Harry.

"Hello Griphook!" he said, remembering the Goblin from his first time at the bank.

The old goblin narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

Harry pulled back his hood to revile his face. The goblin showed no surprise. On the contrary, he beamed and reached under the table, pulling out a box.

"I should have known!" he chuckled, and opened the container.

Harry blinked. "You don't think I killed all those people?" he asked.

"Of course not! None of the Goblins do! You couldn't have killed the Dursleys because of the blood wards around the house. They are tied to the Dursleys. If you had killed them, the wards would have killed _you_! We tried to present this evidence at the trail, but the foolish Aurors wouldn't let us in."

To say that Harry was shocked would be an understatement. Maybe he had more allies than he thought. "So you'll help me?"

"Yes, to the best of our abilities!" Griphook said, pulling out a dagger. "Please prick yourself with this so that we can verify that it is really you, Mr. Potter."

Harry took the dagger and stabbed his finger, causing a drop of blood to leak out. He pressed his cut on a piece of gold which hummed and turned a blue color. Griphook waved his hand, and the scratch healed.

"Very good Mr. Potter, that all seems to be in order. Now, we can get down to business."

The goblin pulled out a large scroll and set some reading glasses on his nose. "Let's see… according to this list, last year, you had a sum of one billion, seven hundred thousand galleons in your vault. Now, however, that sum is dropped to about four million."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. "What!" he shouted."Who is responsible for this?"

"Hmm, it appears that Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley are the two perpetrators in this scandal. They have been claiming to be your legal guardians, and therefore, withdrew money without raising suspicion."

"Those backstabbing gits!" Harry muttered furiously, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Isn't there something that we can do?"

"As a matter of fact, there is!" Griphook sneered. "We at Gringotts do not fancy thieves. We will restrict access to all of their vaults until they can pay the sums that they took from you. Then, we will cast them out of the bank, with a substantial fine of course."

Harry's anger was slowly turning to amusement. "Thank you, that sounds great."

The goblin grinned shiftily, and put the list away. "There is another, more serious matter to take care of."

"Oh? And what is that?" Harry asked, curious.

"You are now eligible for the status of being Lord Potter. There is a catch, though."  
>"What is it?" asked Harry, feeling a little apprehensive.<p>

"In order for you to claim this title, you must be married. If you do not claim lordship, there is little that we can do to prove your innocence."

"Married?" squeaked Harry. True, he had thought about it. But there was the slight problem of being a wanted murderer that might discourage potential dates.

"Yes, unfortunately, that was the rules left by your father. You must be married so that the Potter line can continue."

"What are the benefits of being Lord Potter?" asked Bella, speaking for the first time.

The goblin peered at her and smirked. "Well Ms. _Bellatrix Lestrange_, we could then use his influence over the Wizamont to clear him of all charges. We could also provide a member of our legal department to help this along."

Bellatrix nodded, not really surprised that Griphook knew her name. It was hard to hide anything from goblins when in their bank. "I think you should do it, Harry."

"Who am I supposed to marry?" he gulped. "It's not like I can just walk down the street and ask someone. Plus, I'm fifteen. Isn't that a little young?"

Bella laughed. "A little young? Some children have marriage contracts when they're twelve or thirteen."

Harry muttered: "Stupid wizarding laws."

"It's not like it would have to be permanent." Griphook pointed out. "You could marry, claim lordship, and never see the said person again."

"Isn't that a little, oh, I don't know…shifty?" Harry asked.

"Not in the wizarding world, Harry." said Bella, looking over the papers. "Hey, look! You have a marriage contract with Ginny Weasley. You could use that!"

Harry retched and tore the paper out of Bella's hands. "Griphook please dissolve this contract at once!"

Griphook took the papers and tore them in half. He then threw them under the table carelessly. "There you go!" he smirked.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Now who am I supposed to marry?"

"What about her?" asked Griphook, pointing at Bellatrix.

Both of them jumped.

"Marry her?"

"Marry him?"

"Yes, why not?" asked Griphook, grinning a toothy grin.

"Um, I'm not sure if…" began Harry, but stopped. He didn't want to hurt Bella's feelings. He did feel some attraction to her, but to marry? That was something different.

"I don't know that you have a choice. You _are _a criminal, after all. You can't just ask anyone.

"Um, well I really think -"

"It's not like we can get married anyways!" said Bella, looking almost sad. "We can't have a wedding, or anything. We're on the run."

"Oh, it doesn't involve that!" laughed Griphook. He was very much amused by these two young people. "I can do it right now if you want. You would just need to present her with a ring. The Potter family ring to be exact."

"Uh, where is that?" Harry asked.

"It's now in the possession of Ginny Weasley."

"That little traitor has my family ring?"

"Clam yourself Mr. Potter. I can assure you that we will recover it."

Harry did calm down, but now faced a decision. He didn't want to hurt Bella's feelings by marrying her, and then dumping her a few days later. What was he going to do?

**A/N: Hahahaha! Ah, that Umbridge scene was fun! If any of you despise Ginny as much as I do, then you'll love this next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one, though. A tiny clue: Harry and** **Bella will get married, but not in the way that was discussed. Let me just say it will involve an accident with blood… and Voldemort will finally come into this story. I'm going to be on vacation for a week so I wrote an extra long chapter! I also figured out that my email didn't post for some reason. It's: **

**Until next time…**

**PotionmasterSnape **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This is a particularly long chapter. Hope you like it! Next chapter, I will finally tell who the cloaked man is. Just something to look forward too! **

Chapter 8

Blood Spilled

Molly Weasley hummed merrily as she dished out a portion of her best chicken pie onto Ron's plate. She was rather happy this morning. Albus was supposed to come by any minute to give her another payment of Harry's money. He had been doing this for the past decade of course, but the amount had significantly increased since Harry was thrown in Azkaban.

Right as Molly was setting the old dishes from lunch in the sink there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Weasley, assuming it was Dumbledore, walked over and opened it.

In the doorway stood two grim – faced Aurors (Both had wands out) along with four grinning goblins (Who displayed crude axes and staffs). "Can I help you?" asked Molly, not fully opening the door.

"Are you Molly Weasley?" one of the Aurors asked.

"Why yes I am!" she exclaimed.

"Tell me, is your daughter Ginny Weasley here at the present time?" the other Auror asked, twirling his wand in a self important manner.

"Ginny? Yes she's home, but what does my little girl have to do with your visit?"

"Ma'am, your daughter may be responsible for the theft of an extremely valuable magical object. We will need to search your house immediately."

"What?" cried Mrs. Weasley indignantly. "Ginny would never steal anything! I demand that you leave at once!"

"I'm afraid that we can't do that, madam. Now either step aside or we'll have to force our way in!"

Molly sighed and threw her hands up. "Fine, but once you see how wrong you are, you'll regret this!" She stepped aside, allowing the Aurors and goblins entrance. They walked up the stairs, and into the cramped hallway.

"Ma'am, which room is your daughters?" the Auror asked, drawing his wand.

"This one right here!" the Weasley huffed.

The Auror tried the door, but found it locked. "Ms. Ginny, open this door now! We are Aurors and need to conduct a search!"

There was no answer, but the sounds of glass tinkling and a rough scrapping noise were clearly audible.

"Alohamora!" the Auror said, causing the door to pop open.

Ginny shrieked, and hid something behind her back, some of it spilling onto the floor. It was a pale pink liquid that smelled strongly of a scent the Aurors and Goblins couldn't identify.

"Who are you?" she yelled, drawing her wand.

"I am Griphook, and these are my associates. Irontooth, Sicklefang, and Goldbraid. The Aurors are Pikes and Sanders. We are here investigating a case of stolen magical items."

"I certainly haven't got any magical items! Now I demand that you leave at once!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Pikes, stepping forward. "What's that behind your back?"

"Oh…uh, it's nothing! Just a bit of homework for potions, that's all!"

"Really?" sneered Pikes, and stepped forward. "Then you'll have no problem with us looking at it, will you?"

"Well…I'd rather you didn't! If I spill it, Professor Snape will-"

Sanders shook his head, and grabbed the bottle. He sniffed it, and waved his wand over it, muttering spells.

"What does my daughter's potions homework have to do with anything?" Molly scoffed, making to grab the bottle back.

"This isn't potions homework!" Sanders said, and put the bottle in an evidence bag. "It is a powerful, Class A non – tradable love potion. It is highly illegal. Use or even possession of this could guaranty a twenty year sentence in Azkaban. The effects are almost irreversible. You could be arrested just for having this in your room!"

Griphook grinned toothily, flipping a Galleon in his hand. "Excellent. That, however, is not why we are here. We need to recover the ring!"

"Ring?" asked Molly, confused. "What ring is this?"

"Never you mind!" Pikes said, and raised his wand. "Search this room!"

Ginny gasped as the two Aurors and four goblins started to overturn her room, showing little concern for her possessions. Delicate items were thrown roughly around, causing quite a mess on the floor. Finally, a goblin with a long pole similar to a Muggle metal detector moved into the corner of the room. The pole started to vibrate violently.

"Ah ha!" Griphook said triumphantly, pulling out a locked trunk. "What's in here, huh?"

He tried to open it, but the locks wouldn't budge. Ginny smirked triumphantly; however, Goldbraid stepped forward with a large axe. Ginny shouted in protest, but the goblin slammed the weapon downwards, causing the trunk to split down the middle.

Irontooth pulled out a small red velvet pouch. "I have it, director!" he said, and spilled the contents into his palm.

The object turned out to be a ruby encrusted ring. It was made out of pure gold, and had runes etched along the band. A fat ruby gleamed in the center, and smaller jewels were arranged around it.

"So, you get your kicks by stealing valuable magic items worth more than your life, eh?" Griphook leered, checking the ring for harm. Finding nothing amiss, he motioned to the two Aurors.

"Arrest Ms. Ginny at once!"

"Wait!" cried Mrs. Weasley. "You must be mistaken! That ring belongs to my daughter! She was to have a marriage contract with the owner! It is hers!"  
>"Oh, you mean this contract?" Griphook reached into his cloak and pulled out a shredded and mangled piece of paper.<p>

When Ginny saw it, she started to sob. "How could you rip it up? It was mine!"

"Our client ordered us to!" Griphook smirked. "Plus, if I hadn't, he would have either done it himself, or threw up all over my new desk!"

Ginny was now screaming. "No! He would never do that! He loves me!"

Sicklefang spoke up for the first time. "No, our client has no love for you. He is practically engaged with another!"

Griphook cuffed the young gobbling over the head. "We are not allowed to speak of our client to anyone!"

Mrs. Weasley narrowed her eyes. "You are in contact with Harry?"

Sicklefang, looking to cover up his mistake puffed out his chest importantly. "Did I say that?"

Mrs. Weasley was about to give a snappy retort, when Albus Dumbledore walked into the room.

"What is going on here?" he asked, eyeing the Aurors who were now pinning Ginny's arms behind her back.

"Sir, please step aside!" one of the Aurors called, pushing him out of the way.

Dumbledore regained his balance, and looked at the Auror's coldly. "May I ask what the charges are?"

"No you may not!" snapped Griphook.

The goblins were about to leave, when Griphook seemed to remember something.

"Silly me!" he grinned. "I forgot to tell you: As punishment for stealing the sum of four million Galleons over the years from the Potter vault, you must pay the sum back, plus interest. We have already checked your vaults, and only a forth of that remains. Therefore, your house, possessions, and any stocks are now in the possession of Gringotts. Thank you, and have a nice day."

"Now, now!" smiled Dumbledore. "I'm sure there is a better way to work this out. Now about Harry -"

"  
>Oh, shut it!" said Griphook, causing the Aurors to snigger. "You yourself will have the sum of four hundred million Galleons removed from your vault for similar crimes."<p>

With that, he left, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.

Harry Potter and Bellatrix Black sat in silence as their car sped around a corner.

Harry felt a jumble of thoughts piling up in his mind. _What am I going to do? _He wondered. He didn't want to hurt Bella's feelings by marrying her and then dumping her the next day, like Griphook suggested. It just seemed so _wrong_ to him. Sure, he did have some feelings of attraction to her, but marriage was a whole different thing.

The goblins had given them a special car and driver to ride back to Potter Manor. It was starting to get dark, and Harry was a little drowsy.

The goblins had interrupted their last meeting of the day, saying that they had come to give him back the Potter Ring. Apparently, it had been recovered from the Weasley's house.

The heirloom was now snug in Harry's pocket. Would he give it to Bella? He thought about this. Maybe he would. What would Sirius have said, had he still been alive? Would he have supported Harry? Harry concluded that he needed to know more about Bella's past before making the decision. The goblins had said that they wanted to know by next week. Not a lot of time to make a life changing choice.

Suddenly, there was a smashing sound, and their car spun to a stop. Glass fragment sprayed into the backseat.

Bella gave a surprised yelp, and Harry jumped. "Is everything ok?" he asked, shaking the drivers shoulder.

The man slumped backwards, a long ice spear sticking out of his chest. He was dead.

"Bella! Get out of the car!" Harry shouted.

Bellatrix smashed open the door, and the two jumped clear of the vehicle. They were just in time. Right as they hit the pavement, the car exploded into a huge fireball. Harry raised a weak shield. Seconds later, it nearly buckled as razor sharp metal shrapnel hit it.  
>Harry instinctively rolled out of the way. A killing curse hit the ground where his head had been, kicking up some loose gravel.<p>

"Bella, run!" shouted Harry, sending stunners randomly into the trees on the side of the road.

About twenty masked and hooded figures charged out of the brush, shooting dark curses. Out of the fog in front of them stepped none other than Voldemort himself.

"Hello Potter!" he smiled, showing his pointy teeth. His slit nose and snake – like eyes stood out clearly in the darkness.

Harry cried out as his scar gave a jolt of pain, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Harry!" screamed Bellatrix, throwing a curse at the dark lord.

"How precious," said Voldemort, blocking the spell easily. "So, you decided to betray me for Potter, eh Lestrange?"

"It's Black, not Lestrange! I'll never serve you, Tom! You're a sick, twisted, vile -" began Bella, but Voldemort waved his wand, sending the Cruciacous curse her way.

Bella tried to dodge, but was thrown to the ground. She screamed as the curse gained in strength, burning every nerve with incredible pain.

Voldemort stepped over to her and knelt down, still torturing her. "So, do you still side with Potter?"

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" shouted a voice. Voldemort jumped up and blocked a blasting curse from Harry. In doing so, Bella managed to stagger to her feet, the curse having been lifted.

"My apologies Potter. I was busy and must've forgotten about you."

"If you ever touch her again, you'll be back without a body!"

The Death Eaters laughed at this statement, but quickly sobered as a cutting curse brutally sliced one of them in half.

"So Potter, you finally shoot to kill! I must say that I'm impressed! I was beginning to worry that you would turn out like that old bother Dumbledore. He always uses stunners! Pathetic old man."  
>"Well, I'm not Dumbledore. Nor do I want to be!"<p>

"Hmm, do I detect a sense of malice towards the old bat?" Voldemort smiled broadly.

"I'm not fond of him, no!" responded Harry.

"Well, that's something we have in common, is it not? Perhaps it would be better if you joined me! Then we could kill the old man, and destroy the world! What do you say?"

"What do I say?" sneered Harry. "I say 'die you twisted murderer!'" Harry shot a cutter at Voldemort, but the dark wizard stepped calmly out of harm's way.

"Well, there's your problem!" laughed Voldemort. "I can't die!"

"Do you want to bet on that?" Harry asked.

"Sure, Potter. How about five Galleons. Now, while I love our little chat, I have bigger and better thing to do, so I'll be seeing you, Potter."

"You're letting us go?" gasped Harry, unable to believe his ears.

"Let you go? Why would I do that? No Potter, what I meant is that I am going to kill you!"

"How thoughtful!" Harry muttered, raising a shield around his body.

"Harry, you take care of Moldy Shorts over there, and I'll get the Death Eaters!" Bella called, raising her own wand.

Harry tried to respond, but had to stop as Voldemort shot a killing curse his way. "You want a duel Tom? I'll give you a duel!"

^V^V^V^VV^ (Cool pattern, huh?)

Ginny Weasley had not remembered feeling this miserable ever. She was on her way to the Ministry to be tried for the theft of the ring. Her ring!

The Aurors were transporting her via a one way Portkey that would take her straight to the MLE area of the Ministry.

(One hour earlier)

A hooded man walked stealthily through the halls of the DMLE. He was looking for something in particular. This was his most risky attempt yet.

He only hoped that the MLE wouldn't see the connection between these deaths. Judging on their past ignorance, he assumed they wouldn't. He was careful to make it look random, and done by many different people. How would they make the connection between Fudge and Weasley? They were completely different circumstances. Umbridge might be a problem, but hopefully no one found her yet.

He turned down a darkened hallway. Would Black recognize him? No, no. He was being too paranoid. There were hundreds of people that visited Azkaban every day. How could he be distinguished from all of them?

The man laughed a bitter laugh. It was funny, really. The person he was working for didn't even know that he existed. Ironic? Yes. But he couldn't keep doing this. Sure, now the potion master was helping, but he needed to contact his boss.

He swiftly turned into a hallway off the main branch of rooms and saw what he was looking for.

_Portkey Department_

This time, his plan was relatively simple, but risky. If he was caught…but no! Even though he was in the Ministry itself, the imbecile Aurors wouldn't think to look here.

He entered the room and searched through a complicated filing system.

_Portkeys for criminals _

_One way Portkeys_

_Today's cases_

_Weasley_

_Ginny_

He reached in the box and pulled out a worn wooden loop used for the prisoner transport. He needed to hurry. In about ten minutes, the Aurors would be here to pick the loop up, and he had to be gone by then.

With this thought firmly in his mind, the hooded man waved his wand, and started to mutter spells over the Portkey.

The security enchantments put on by the Portkey Officials were easily breached. Now he just had to tweak the drop off time.  
>About two minutes later, the hooded man slid the loop back in its box and walked out, leaving no trace of his presence.<p>

(Present time)

"Ms. Weasley, please grab onto this loop." said the bored Auror, giving Ginny the Portkey.

Ginny sullenly grabbed it, and waited.

"Activate!" muttered her guard. There was a small flash, and a spiral of colors.

When Ginny looked around, there was no office. No jail bars. Only blue sky. _This shouldn't be!_ She thought. _Those fools must have made a mistake with the Portkey!_ She thought joyously. _Now I can go give Potter his love potion. If he refuses, well…if I can't have him, no one can!_

Ginny smelled salt. She heard waves crashing. She looked down, and saw the ocean roaring a hundred feet below. She noticed something else, rather quickly. She wasn't standing on anything.

(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)

Harry scowled as he dodged another killing curse. Voldemort was moving in a glowing blue shield. Harry had tried almost every spell that he knew, but nothing would or could penetrate it.

"Give up Potter! You can't win!" laughed the dark wizard, sending a wave of fire Harry's way. He dodged, but felt some hair part company with his head.

Bellatrix wasn't doing much better. She was fighting four now. One had long ago succumbed to one of her blasting curses, and lay unmoving on the road.

The other four were closing in, shooting deadly bolts of lightning her way. Bella managed to block most of them, but one hit the ground next to her, the shock wave sending her flying. Her wand was roughly slammed out of her hand as she made contact with the sidewalk.

"Well, well! What've we got here boys?" sneered one of the masked men, standing over Bella.

"You're going to pay for betraying the dark lord, black!" shouted another, raising his wand.

Bellatrix felt something white hot slash across her face, and tasted blood. She was bleeding badly, and wouldn't last long, she knew. Another curse smashed into her arm. She rolled into a ball as she felt her arm break. The sidewalk was splattered with her blood.

A beefy Death Eater raised his black ash wand and pointed it at Bellatrix. "Now you die, traitorous fool!"

There was a twanging sound, like one made by a bow and arrows, and the man was flung forwards. He hit the ground, and grasped the pike sticking out of his chest. He twitched feebly for a second, and then stopped moving.

The other three Death Eaters gasped in horror, and backed away. Harry Potter stood in front of them, eyes burning with a green fire.

"You shouldn't have done that!" he growled, and started to fire curses at the now scared dark wizards. Within a few seconds, they were killed by the onslaught of spells.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, kneeling next to Bellatrix, and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Fine!" she gasped, and then whimpered in pain as Harry healed her head wound. "Where's Voldemort?"

"He left a few seconds ago."

Suddenly, there was a crack, and the dark lord reappeared behind Harry. "Ha! You've fallen right into my trap!" he shouted gleefully, raising his wand.

Harry jumped up, spells already leaving his wand. Voldemort stepped to the side, allowing the curses to fly past him.

Voldemort drew back his wand and fired a powerful cutting curse at Harry. He erected a shield, but the spell still smashed through it and nicked his leg, slicing open his pocket and causing the Potter family ring to drop out of its wrappings and onto the street.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said Voldemort, kneeling down to grab the ring.

"REDUCTO!" bellowed Harry, attacking when Voldemort was occupied.

The dark lord screamed as the spell partially broke his shield and hit him in the side, causing a large cut. "ARG! I'll kill you for that Potter!"

Harry only grimaced, and fired another curse. Voldemort looked at him with pure hatred, and disapparated, leaving them alone.

Bella slowly stood up, holding the Potter ring. "Here Harry. This fell out of your pocket."

"Thanks," said Harry glumly, and reached for the ring.

The next seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. Harry saw a drop of Bella's blood fall off her finger and onto the ring. There was a bright flash of ruby colored light that seemed to come from the ring itself.

When the light faded, Harry looked shocked, and Bella looked mortified.

"What happened?" asked Harry. He already had a pretty good idea. Bella didn't answer right away. "Bellatrix, what happened?"

"Uh, well…I kinda…you see…the blood on the ring…well…"

"Bella, what was that?" repeated Harry, this time a little bit more forcefully.

"Um, Harry. That was a very crude, but binding marriage ritual."

**A/N: Well, hoped you liked this chapter! Thanks again for all of the reviews! I really appreciate it! Please keep it up!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know that the timeline is screwed up, but I'll go with it for now and see how it works. Bellatrix is ten years older than Harry in this story, so she would still be in her late twenties. Thanks for all the reviews, and please keep them coming! Reviews = more motivation to write. Also, I got a lot of reviews saying how the pace is going so fast. I can assure you that the story is just getting started. Remember, Bella and Harry didn't want to get married necessarily, but it was an accident. I can also promise more interaction between the two of them. Enjoy! **

Chapter 9

Confusion

There was a slight _pop_ as two battered people apparated back into the Potter Family's wards. One was a young man with messy black hair and vibrant green eyes. The other was a beautiful black haired woman with violet eyes. The two stood stock still for a moment, before the black haired man spoke.

"Here, this is yours now." he said, and slid a ruby ring onto the woman's finger. He then turned and walked up the drive and towards the mansion that was slowly being lit up by the first rays of dawn.

The woman stood alone for a second, then fell to her knees, gently crying.

Harry Potter was confused; absolutely mystified. It was all just so unexpected. He had not planned it this way. He truly had not. He had wanted it to be something that he would look back on with joy. Not this.

Truthfully, Harry wasn't sure he had even wanted the contract to be with Bellatrix. Sure, he thought she was beautiful, but it was hard to look at her and not remember the other Bellatrix. The one who had killed his Godfather. The same one who had tortured the Longbottoms into insanity, along with so many countless other witches and wizards.

He sighed warily and ran his hands through his messy black hair. He was a bit worried. He had been short with Bella, but it was only out of shock. He hadn't really meant anything by it, but Harry feared that Bella might take it that way.

Harry groaned in bewilderment. _Why is it whenever anything strange happens, it always has to do with me?_

Then Harry felt a surge of guilt. He had not even really checked on Bella to see if her wounds from Voldemort's attack were healed. Harry slowly got up and walked down the hall.

He reached the room Bella had been staying in, and knocked. There was no reply, so Harry tried again. Sighing when Bella didn't answer, Harry pushed open the door.

Bellatrix sat on the edge of the bed, eyes red and puffy, and hair matted with filth and blood from the battle. Her cuts were partially healed, but were still visible on her arms.

"Hey, how're you doing?" asked Harry, plopping himself next to her on the bed.

"Terrible!" she sniffed and turned away from him.

Harry breathed out. He was not good at this kind of stuff. He wished his father, or even Sirius was still alive. Harry was sure that they would know what to do in a situation like this.

"Er, well…do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked awkwardly, and blushed.

Bella turned her sad tearstained eyes onto him, and started to speak. "I'm sorry about what happened. I understand if you hate me."

Harry was again, confused. "Hate you? Why would I hate you?"

Bella laughed bitterly. "Why? Because of my stupidity. I forced this contract on you! You should marry someone who's young and free. Not an old Death Eater like me."

Harry scowled. "Bella, I'm fifteen, turning sixteen, and you're twenty five, turning twenty six! For one thing, you're not old, and for another, you're no longer a Death Eater!"

Bella scowled and rubbed her eyes. "Be that as it may, I still forced you to marry me, basically. I ruined your life!"

"Come on, Bella! That's not true. It was an accident!"

This apparently was the wrong thing to say, as Bella started to cry softly.  
>"No…I didn't mean it like that!" Harry said, figuring out his mistake. "Really Bella, it's not that I don't care about you…everything just happened so quickly."<p>

Bella slowly looked up hopefully, and Harry was struck with a sudden idea. "Take a shower and put on some nice cloths! I'll meet you outside."

"Harry, what -"

But Harry had already left, leaving a very confused Bellatrix behind.

8 – 8 – 8 – 8 – 8 – 8 – 8 – 8

A hooded man moved stealthily through the halls of the Ministry of Magic. This was his final, but most risky attempt. This one would determine whether the others were all for nothing. This was also the most dangerous.

As he came nearer to the Minister's personal hallway, he was met by two Aurors guarding the passage. One was Nymphadora Tonks, and the other was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

The hooded man snarled in frustration, and raised his wand.

"Hey! What are you doing!" yelled Kingsley, seeing the man.

"_Mei oblivisci_!"

There was a faint blue glow that passed over Tonks and Kingsley. The two Aurors stopped suddenly, and returned to their post, a blank looking on their faces.  
>The man nodded in approval, and hurried past them before the spell could wear off. He reached the Minister's office and pointed his wand at the door.<p>

"_Aperire_!" he intoned, pointing his hand at the door. With a faint _pop_ it swung open.

"Oh, good!" said the new Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour. "You finally got those files -"

The Minister obviously was expecting someone else. The hooded man raised his wand. "C_ompos tuam mente!_" there was a dull flash of light, and the Minister was frozen in place.

"Good, now _sit_!" the hooded man said.

The Minister walked over to his chair and sat down. "Now get out a piece of parchment. There's something you need to write."

Harry Potter stood outside Potter Manor, breathing deeply. He was enjoying the warm summer air, when an owl flew down from out of the sky.

"Hedwig!" shouted Harry. "I haven't seen you in age's girl! How are you?"

The white owl hooted and allowed Harry to rub her head. She held out her leg, and Harry grabbed the letter. He carefully slit it open, and pulled out the piece of parchment inside. To his fury, it was from Granger.

_Dear Potter, _

_I am writing to you because I am worried. You have been missing now for weeks. While I know you think that you did nothing wrong, you are a danger to the public. You are a mass – murderer, and possibly have mental problems. If you cared about the wizarding world, you would turn yourself in. I know you may be enjoying your freedom, but think about the greater good. Face it Harry, you know you killed – _

Harry crumpled up the note, and narrowed his eyes, struggling to control his fury. _Deep breaths._ His body told him, trying to return to normal.

"Harry? What's wrong?"

Harry turned, and was about to say 'nothing' but stopped as he felt his jaw drop. Bellatrix was standing on the top of the stairs. She was dressed in a silky black dress. She had on small black earrings shaped like diamonds. Her hair was long and curly. Her face bore no signs of the recent battle, but her arms still had faint scars on them.

She was literally glowing.

"Uhh…."

"What's wrong?" asked Bella, nervously. "Is this too dressy?"

"No!" said Harry, almost shouting. "You look great! I mean _really_ great!"

Bella blushed. "You don't look to bad yourself!"

Harry was wearing a black dress shirt and black pants. He had on a nice sports jacket over the shirt. "Thanks."

Both stood there for a faction of a second.  
>"Well, er…If you want to get going, grab onto my arm."<p>

Bellatrix did this, and with a tiny _pop_ they were gone.

..0

Severus Snape was seething with barely concealed rage. He was on his way back from Gringotts, and had just learned that Sirius had left him a considerable amount of gold. This would make most normal people happy, but Snape took it as a cruel joke.

_After all of the pain he and James put me through, he acts like nothing ever happened! How could he? Don't they realize they made my whole life miserable?_

Snape appeared in front of a grey marble house. He was about to walk in, but he dropped the box of possessions that had been given him. The contents spilled all over the cobbled drive. Snape cursed and bent down to pick them up. Something caught his eye.

There was a wrinkled piece of parchment lying in the bottom of the box. It was yellowed with age, but enchanted with spells to keep it preserved.

Snape picked it up, and started to read.

_Dear Severus,_

_If you are reading this, it probably means that Sirius and I are dead. I wanted to apologize. When we teased you in school, we were only joking, but I fear that we took it too far. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us, but I would understand if you didn't. I can only beg you not to take the anger you have towards me out on Harry. He is a good boy, Severus, and I would hate to hear that he was treated poorly. Please remember what I said, and take the gift that is in the small black box. Lily would have wanted you to have it. I'm sorry again, but I know words can't really express what we put you through. _

_James Potter and Sirius Black_

Snape stood in shock for a moment, and reached down. A small black box had suddenly appeared, and Severus picked it up, opening in carefully. Inside was a fine gold chain with an ornamental lily on it. The necklace Lily Potter had worn when Snape first met her.  
>Snape was on his knees in shock, and for the first time in years, a tear ran down his hooked nose.<p>

!U!U!U!U!U!U!U!U!

Harry and Bellatrix appeared in front of a muggle restaurant. It was the kind where you ate outdoors on small, round tables. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower glowed, casting a cheerful light over the city.

"Wow, Harry! Are we really in Paris?" Bella gasped.

Harry grinned. "Yeah. I heard about this place once, and I thought that we should try it."

A few minutes later, they were seated and had their food ordered. About ten minutes later, it came and they started to eat.

"What are our plans for the next few weeks?" asked Bella.

Harry thought about this carefully. "I guess another trip to Gringotts would be a good idea. We need to get the contract finalized by Griphook and get my inheritance. Then we could train a bit, and get ready to fight Voldemort."

"What about the Aurors. We're wanted for murder. How are we going to keep sneaking around without being caught?"

"Hmm…that's a good point. We need to do something about clearing our names. Maybe the goblins could recommend someone to help with that."

"Well, what about Dumbledork and the rest of the Order?"

"_That_ I have a plan for. Once I inherit the Potter and Black houses from Gringotts, their headquarters is mine. I have a few ideas about what to do with it."

"What about Voldemort?"

"Him, I intend to hold to his bet."

"Wait, what bet?"

"Voldemort bet me five Galleons on who would kill the other. If he dies, I'll be five Galleons richer."

Bellatrix laughed. "Five Galleons? Isn't that nothing for you? You're the richest wizard in Britain!"

"Well, it will be the best five Galleons I ever make, that's for sure."

?

From across the darkened street, a hooded man watched the couple eat. He smiled slightly as he started to move. Finally, after all of these months of hard work, it was time.

He walked slowly over (managing to stay undetected) and stopped next to their table. "Hello Harry Potter."

The man in question jumped and had his wand out in a second. The hooded man chuckled and waved his hand. "_Tergus nos!_" The Muggles who had stared at the drawn wands turned back to their tables.

"Who are you?" asked Harry, not lowering his wand an inch.

"I? I am Blair Gladus."

"Do I know you?"

"Probably not," admitted Blair, lowering his hands. "You see, I am an assassin."

Harry reacted quickly, sending two stunners at the man.

"_Scutum!_" Blair said calmly. Harry's spells were stopped in midair by a faint blue shield.

Harry narrowed his eyes when the man did nothing to harm them. "What are you doing here?"

"I am quite sorry to interrupt your date, but I have been eager to meet you. I also have something for you!"

Blair reached into his pocket and pulled out a newspaper. The Daily Prophet. It looked a little worn, but the mysterious man reached over and held it out to Harry.

"Here, read it, and you might not have the urge to kill me."

Harry passed the paper to Bellatrix, and kept his eyes on the man.

"You say you're an assassin?"

"Yes. Unfortunately so. I have killed many people over the years."

"You work for Voldemort, correct?"

"Voldemort? I would never work for _that_ scumbag! I kill to destroy him!"

"Then the Aurors?"

The man laughed loudly. "Those fools are nowhere near my level. I have fought them just as much as the Death Eaters."

"Huh, then why the hood?" asked Harry.

The man shrugged and pulled it down. The man staring at Harry was, for lack of a better word, creepy. His face was normally shaped, but any appearance of normality stopped there. He had jet black hair that was shaved down so his scalp showed. He had slightly pointed ears. His skin was a pale white color. His eyes were a blackish gray color. They had little color in them, but they gleamed none the less. His teeth were small and almost pointed, but he had no fangs. His nose was sharp and angular.

Harry gaped at him for a minute. "Yes, not exactly pleasant, is it? That's what happens when you try to change your body with magic. I'd strongly advise against it."

After a few more seconds of staring, the man slid his hood back up, and rapped his knuckles on the table. "Come on, read the paper!"

"Wait! How do we know we can trust you?"

"You don't and have no reason too. However, you have no choice."

Bellatrix gasped in recognition.

"Yes, Bella. You remember me?"

"You were there? At Azkaban?"

"Of course. I have been helping the two of you for months now. I have been very eager to meet you both."

Harry shrugged. If Bella trusted this man, that was good enough for him. He picked up the paper, and felt his face split into a huge grin.

**The Ministry's Huge Mistake**

**By John Fielding**

Last night, the Minister of magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, released an important statement. The alleged murderer Harry Potter, and the accused Death Eater, Bellatrix Black, were cleared of all charges yesterday! A member of the Wizamont, a Mr. Lucius Malfoy, was arrested for Mr. Potter's crimes. Bellatrix was found to have been being controlled by the imperious, and therefore cannot be considered responsible for her actions. The Minister has offered Potter and Black a pardon of two million Galleons each, and Order of Merlin third class. When interviewed, Harry's friends (Who never believed him by the way) refused to comment on this latest development.

"This is incredible!" gasped Harry.

"Yes, you're finally free." said Blair, smiling. "It was hard to make it happen, but it was worth it. I know it's an inconvenience, but could you come with me? There's something else I need to show you."

**A/N: Thanks again for all of the reviews! If anyone has any scenes they want me to add, PM me, or put it in a review, and I'll **_**do my best**_** to fit it in with the plot! Thanks! **

**PotionmasterSnape **


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